Next To Honor
by Unoriginality
Summary: Twenty-nine years ago, the king unified a country at war. Now, it looks like the King's Peace may be falling apart, and a country once again turns to a Hero.
1. Prologue: I've Got A Hero

The sounds of yelling and the clashing of steel against steel grew distant in Link's awareness, drowned out by his own screaming as a searing pain lanced up his side, setting all his nerves on fire.

"Here, kid, drink this," a voice from somewhere up by his head said, and a bottle was pressed to his lips. A burning that couldn't quite match the injury in his side washed down his throat and he choked and sputtered, the liquid dribbling out of the corner of his mouth and running down the side of his face.

"Set him down here!" someone else, an elder-sounding woman, commanded, and he was jostled around some more as his rescuers moved him where they'd been instructed. Rough canvas scratched at the back of his head as he was laid down, and a pair of skilled hands began to prod at his side. He yelled a wordless protest.

"You're lucky, boy," the woman said, and Link's mind reeled, tried to process that past the pain that was drowning out almost everything else, making his entire side from his hip to his shoulder burn to blind him and take the breath from his chest. Lucky? With this pain? He'd hate to see _un_lucky.

"It didn't hit anything vital." The woman's hands pulled back, leaving the arrow shaft that had lodged itself just below his ribs still embedded. "Alicia, Brothelus, hold him down. Latèmi, bring that whiskey here, and my needle and thread."

A few moments later, more of the foul, burning liquid was forced down his throat, and like before, he coughed it up messily, yearning for the cool relief of a medicine potion instead.

Link's awareness past the wound grew dimmer; he barely registered when hands pinned his arms down firmly. A sharp, hoarse scream worked its way past his throat as the arrow shaft moved; the arrowhead tore through muscle and skin, forced out the other side. He thrashed, tried to pull away from the weight holding him down, keeping him from curling up against the pain as he was moved again, turned on his side, and the arrow forced the rest of the way through.

"Latèmi, where is that needle and thread?" the woman snapped. "Let's get this boy stitched up."

* * *

The morning air was damp against his skin as he pulled back the tent flap, lingering there as he watched the sun beginning to rise in the East, one hand held lightly to his side. There was still a constant dull ache, and again he wished for access to the medicines from his homeland, but nothing like that existed this far East of Hyrule, this far away from the woods where the source of magic thrived.

"I think I distinctly recall telling my patient to stay in bed," a voice scolded behind him.

Link glanced over his shoulder back into the medical tent, looking at the short old woman whose eyes were gentle despite the stern set of her mouth. He smiled. "The patient wanted to watch the sunrise," he protested quietly, glancing back outside.

The medicine woman chuckled, moving up next to him. "It certainly is a pretty enough sunrise, isn't it?" She looked up at him. "This is the first one these people out here have seen as free men."

One ear twitched as he looked down at her, blinking in surprise. "We won?" At the smile on the woman's face, Link closed his eyes, relief unknotting muscles that he hadn't realized were tense. "Good."

"You shouldn't act so surprised," she admonished, moving away to fuss around with clean dressings back in the tent. "These men would never have had the courage to stand up for their freedom if you hadn't come along."

Link smiled faintly. "The one thing I won't give up on is courage," he said, more to himself than to the medicine woman.

She clucked her tongue. "Well, you're a rare one, then. We owe you. So where will you go from here, young hero?" Her eyes never left him as he returned to his bed roll and settled down, holding his wounded side. "You'd certainly have a place here, if you wanted."

"I know," he said, going quiet as he contemplated. He was far from the magics of Hyrule, and more vulnerable to death. And something deep inside him, the part of him that was sensitive to the climates of evil and the winds of destiny, told him he was needed in Hyrule.

Maybe it iwas/i time to go home. He'd been gone from Hyrule for seventeen years, traveling for longer. Epona was getting old, and he didn't like the idea of her passing on so far from the ranch where she was born and grew up into such a noble horse. He himself didn't like the idea of dying so far from home, either.

"I think maybe it's time I go home," he said, laying back down. "Have you ever heard of Hyrule?"

"Can't say that I have," the woman replied, checking on another patient that was in far worse condition than Link

"It's far to the West," Link said. "We have medicines there that could heal this wound in an instant. What I wouldn't give for one right now."

The woman laughed. "Hurts like hell now, doesn't it? I told you to stay laying down," she scolded. "So tell me about these medicines. They sound like magic."

Link smiled. "They _are_ magic," he said. "Magic thrives in Hyrule, because of the Kokiri Forest, the source of it. I used to live there, when I was a kid. Until I found out I was really Hylian and left the forest. I wonder sometimes how my old friends are doing. I've been away a long time."

"We always end up going back home," the woman said, settling down by him with fresh bandages. "How long has it been, boy?"

At twenty-nine, Link was far from a boy, but compared to the positively ancient woman tending the injured, he was still a child, so he let her name for him pass. "Seventeen years. Nineteen since I left home. Spent a couple years exploring Hyrule. We have a beautiful lake called Lake Hylia in the southwestern region. Clearest water you've ever seen, fed by the Zora River."

"It sounds like a lovely place. No wonder you miss it." She looked at him. "But you can't get back there while you're injured. You're to stay with us another two weeks. I could let you go at five days, but you'd be coughing up blood, as the saying goes."

Link sighed. "I'll stick around the two weeks," he assured her. "No point in pushing myself that hard if I want to get there in one piece."

"Good lad," the woman said. "Now, lay down, get some rest. Hyrule will still be waiting for you in two weeks time."

Her words brought a bad feeling settling over him, like it was possible it might not be true, like any delay would be disastrous for his home country. It was the same feeling of dread that he'd had when he and Mido saw the forest withering with the Deku Tree as Gohma had attacked. Something was very, very wrong back home.

He just hoped he could get there in time.


	2. Chapter 1: A Hero Comes Home

Hyrule Castle was burning.

The scent of mortar and blood was strong in Link's nostrils, overpowering until he was choking on it. He ran through the castle, desperately searching for the princess. "Zelda!" he called over the roar of the flames. "Impa! Zelda!" He ran down the hallways, searching every room he could find where the fire didn't block him.

Eventually, he found his way outside. Over on another balcony to his right, was Impa, standing between a man on puppet strings and a beautiful young woman that Link immediately recognized. "Zelda!" He dashed down the stairs, muscled past some guards, and leapt off the edge of the stairs, praying he'd land on the other side where Zelda needed him.

"Link!" she cried, just as he landed. When he looked up, Impa was gone. He was standing in a temple he'd never seen. Voices he recognized called out to him for help, voices of the sages. And above them was a laugh he'd never forget, even if he tried.

"Ganondorf," he snarled, reaching over his shoulder for his sword. He withdrew the Master Sword, shining brightly, but all that could be found of his foe was that damnable laugh rising over the voices of his friends.

He turned around, and immediately dropped his sword, staring at the Triforce that hung suspended in air just in front of him. A tendril of dark mist slipped over it, until the Triforce was completely enveloped. Ganondorf's laughter grew louder.

And around him, Hyrule Castle burned.

Link awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed and immediately regretting it as he laid back down, curling up on his good side as he clutched at his bad one. His breath hissed through his teeth in a sharp whistle as he rode out the pain that burned and seared up his side.

"Easy, boy, easy," the medicine woman said, just over him, and he felt her cool hands gently lift his hands away from his injury. Her hands gently removed the bandages, and then she sighed. "You've busted a stitch, boy," she told him. "Don't move. I'll fix it. At this rate, you'll never get home."

Through a quickened breath and clenched teeth, he said, "I don't have a choice, ma'am. I have to push to get out of here as soon as possible. Epona will be gentle with me."

The medicine woman patiently went to work repairing the broken stitch. "A nightmare giving you a bad feeling?"

Link bit down hard on his lower lip as the needle pierced skin, holding his breath tensely while she worked. When she was done, he released his breath and shuddered. "Prophetic dream," he said quietly. "I've had them since childhood."

"Never heard of such a thing," the woman said, applying fresh bandages and wrapping them. "But if you say so, then it must be true. We'll get you out of here in five days. But no pushing that horse of yours. Keep it to a slow walk. You can't do a thing for your home if you're in bad shape."

"I know," he said. "I just gotta make it to Hyrule, then I can get some medicine to help."

Five days seemed like eternity, with every night haunted by that same nightmare, Hyrule Castle burning. The Triforce turning dark. His friends crying for help. The same thing over and over and Link thought he'd never make it to Hyrule without possibly going crazy.

Five long, interminable days full of pain, and whiskey to dull the pain that never really helped, just made him really sick and long for a medicine from back home. Poor food and weak milk that made him homesick for Lon Lon Milk, made him homesick for the food stands of Hyrule Castle Town, expenses and all.

But five days that passed, and he was limping out of the medicine tent, hand held to his bandaged side on the sixth day as the medicine woman had promised.

"Now you be careful, boy," she said sternly, handing him a bag of green herbs. "Wash the wound with those when you bed down at night. Just a few leaves at a time, mind you. When you run out, it should be time to remove the stitches. You'll know when it's time." She handed him another small bag with a few white cloves of what looked like garlic in it. "Be very careful to watch for infection. If they get infected, here's some garlic, cut up a few slices and make a poultice and treat it with that. That should kill anything that gets in there."

Then she handed him one last bag. "Willow bark, for the pain, since the whiskey doesn't seem to help you and you don't need to be trying to navigate drunker than a skunk."

That made him chuckle weakly, trying not to disturb his wound. "Probably not," he agreed, taking all the bags, marked with ties around the cinch, and added them to his pack on Epona's back.

"We couldn't find a bridle in your stuff," one of her assistants said, walking over with one in his hand. "So we'll give you one of ours. They're easy enough to come by, especially now that we can raid the nobles' supplies to keep us all well fed and well suited."

Link shook his head. "Thank you, but Epona and I don't use bridles. She knows what I need her to do." He looked at Epona. "Can you let me on?"

Epona took a second, nickered, then settled down on the ground, as if bedding down for the night.

"What's she doin'?" the man with the bridle asked.

"Letting me on," Link said, crouching down carefully and settling on the saddle. He whistled lightly, and Epona stood back up, allowing him to stick his feet in the stirrups.

"I'll be damned."

The medicine woman smiled. "You have a special bond with that horse. She'll take care of you. Now get goin', before I change my mind and tie you to a bed until you're well."

Link waved as Epona started off at a sedate pace, almost lazy, heading back East.

They'd left early morning, as sun was rising, following a stream that wrapped around towards the East. Around midday, his side was starting to ache, so he dug into his pouch and found that willow bark. It was horribly bitter, but after a time, it started doing its job and he pulled his hood down, letting Epona guide them while he napped in the saddle.

Night fell, and Link and Epona stopped by the stream and settled in for the night, Link tending to his wounds while Epona snacked on the grass.

This went on for three long, slow weeks. Each night got worse, the darkness coming sooner, the castle burning faster, until Link himself was burned up. But he couldn't push himself or Epona any harder. She was old, but could still run with the best of them, but Link's side refused to let them move at a quicker didn't get infected, although Link treated it with a bit of garlic from time to time to make sure of that, and he removed the stitches when they were almost home.

But three weeks, and they started to see signs of fairies. Link wondered how drunken of a line he'd traveled to have been gone seventeen years but only take three weeks on a straight line to get home.

Well, he'd been busy. Monsters to kill, people to help. As he got farther and farther West, it'd been less monsters and more sickness and oppression.

There was a vague awareness in the back of Link's mind that the goddesses had a hand in speeding up his progress despite the easy pace he kept Epona at. The country he'd been in hadn't heard of Hyrule, and if it were truly a three week ride from one to the other, they would've.

Gods and their games.

Already feeling better as the magic of the forest washed over him, Link pulled out his ocarina and started playing, a familiar old tune that Saria had taught him.

Probably a good thing he was playing that tune, too. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small figure with a black face and glowing eyes holding a blowgun, hesitating. Link looked over. "Hello, Skull Kid," he greeted his familiar old friend who looked wary of him in his adult form.

"Who are you?" the Skull Kid demanded.

Before Link could answer, a small yellow fairy came flying out at high speed, nearly crashing into Link's head before flying around him in a fairy dance. "Link! Link, you're back!"

He laughed, able to do more than a weak little noise that sounded more like a cough than a laugh now that his side had mostly healed. "Hi, Tatl."

The Skull Kid crept forward. "Link? You're an adult." He sounded betrayed.

Link carefully maneuvered off of Epona and crouched down in front of his friend. "I'm Hylian, I just grew up. But I'm still your friend, I never forgot you."

Skull Kid moved a bit closer, sniffing at Link. "You iare/i him," he finally declared, then smiled. "You still play the ocarina? Want to play awhile?"

It was truly tempting to ease the tension that had haunted him. Tempting enough that he agreed, letting Epona eat while he settled himself on a stump next to his friend. He moved slowly, still babying his injury a bit to get him by until he could buy medicine.

"What's wrong, Link?" Tatl demanded, sitting down on his shoulder, while her brother rested on Skull Kid's opposite shoulder.

"Just an injury," he said evasively. "It's a few weeks old now, so it's just achy."

She buzzed at him. "Why haven't you had any medicine?" Pushy pushy.

"I've been gone from where magic was," he protested. "There wasn't medicine to be had. I'll get some when I get to town. For now, I want to spend time with my friends."

Skull Kid started playing first, music over what Tatl's next words were about to be. Link listened a moment, then joined in, adding harmony to his friend's melody. Skull Kid got up and started dancing around, the fairy siblings joining him. Link refrained from joining in the festivities, keeping up his part of the song until a sound jolted him out of the music.

Skull Kid's music stopped too, and he pulled out his blowgun again. "Adults," he snarled. "So many in the forest lately. Only you are okay."

"Easy," he told his friend, standing and putting away his instrument. "Hello?"

"Ho there, who goes in the king's forest?"

Link frowned, then looked at Skull Kid. "The king's forest?" he said, lowering his voice to speak only to his friend. "When did this start?"

"A couple years ago," Tatl replied, buzzing angrily at Link's side. "The king of Hyrule's been slowly taking over everything. The new Deku Tree isn't big enough or powerful enough to stop them from coming in, and the Kokiri are banished to their houses."

That pissed Link off a bit. He stood, putting his ocarina away and drawing his sword from his saddle. "Who goes in the Kokiri's forest?" he responded to the invader.

It wasn't a royal guard that appeared, but a rough armored soldier. "It's the king's forest, as is everything else in Hyrule. You're an intruder, get out."

"I live here," Link responded.

"The hell you do," the soldier said. "Nobody lives here but the children and the Skull Kid over there. He's a right pain in the arse, too, with those darts of his."

"No adults!" Skull Kid shouted, arming a dart.

"It's okay," Link said, holding a hand back to stop his friend. "I got this."

Skull Kid retreated back into the trees, but Link could still see him, still see the blowgun brought up in readiness.

"I'm a friend of Zelda," Link said, still holding his sword at the ready despite the weight that put on his injured side, which was not ready to hold a sword just yet.

"You lie."

"I don't," he said. "My name is Link." He lowered his sword and held out the Ocarina of Time, already getting the feeling that he'd be proving his identity a lot for awhile, after being gone so long. But he kept a firm grip on it.

The soldier inspected it. "I'll take you to Lord Taburd's castle. He can decide what to do with you from there." It wasn't exactly belief, but it wasn't disbelief, either, so Link decided to go with it. He sheathed his sword. "I'll be back once I get everything sorted out," he reassured his paranoid and wary friend up in the trees.

"I'll go with you," Tatl said. She turned back to her brother and Skull Kid. "I'll be back, I get a feeling Link's going to need my help again. Tael, you watch after Skull Kid."

Link knew better than to argue with his tiny friend; she was headstrong to a fault, and he wouldn't turn down the company and help. While Tatl hid herself in his hood, he put a hand on Epona's side and the two followed the soldier, past the Kokiri's woods. Link could just make out the tree houses they lived in, but no sign of life. That would have to change.

Lord Taburd's castle, a barony, if Link recalled correctly from his days exploring Hyrule, wasn't terribly big or fancy, more of a small fortress than a true castle. The soldier led him through the gates, where they were met by an aging man with a droopy mustache.

"Osun?" Link recognized his friend immediately. "Master Osun, is that you?"

Osun blinked once, studying Link, then laughed. "Link, you giant rat. When'd I ever give you permission to grow up? And Epona, she's still around. Gotta say, that's one loyal horse, to stick around so long for you."

The soldier that had led Link through the woods looked between the two men. "Master Osun, you know this man?"

"Sure do. He's a kid from the forest that showed up on the castle's doorstep, looking for the princess. They're old friends now. Dunno how excited she'll be to see you, lad. She's been in an awful mood ever since her father forced her to marry one of his advisors then left all the power of the throne to him instead of her."

Link reeled. "She's married?"

"Against her will," Osun answered, shrugging. "She's got no power to get out of it, too, poor thing. But maybe seeing you will cheer her up, if she doesn't slug you for being gone for so long. She's developed a helluva temper since you left."

Flattening his ears in worry, Link sighed. "If you can get me there, I'll handle whatever she throws my way. I've handled worse."

"I hope so, lad," Osun said. He looked at the soldier. "You're dismissed. I'll take him from here. See to his horse."

"Don't put a bridle on her," Link warned the soldier as he approached. "She hates those, and I've never used them."

"How do you lead her, then?" the soldier asked.

"She listens." He looked at Epona. "Behave for him, I'll be right back," he told her, and Epona nickered, nodding her head, then turned to follow the soldier. The soldier looked bewildered, but led Epona towards what Link assumed would be the stables.

Osun shook his head. "That was always a strange horse you had."

Link watched her go. "Maybe, but she's been good to me." He looked back at Osun. "So who's in charge of the outpost now that you're here?"

Osun laughed, a belly-deep sound. "Vincente, goddesses help us all. You sure handed him a piece of humility, comin' in as a kid and whooping his ass."

"He wasn't very good," Link said. "It wasn't hard."

"Keep talking like that, he'll challenge you to a rematch."

"And I'll just beat him again," Link said with a cheerful grin.

"You've got a good attitude, always did like that," Osun said. "You still got that ocarina the queen gave you?"

"Of course," Link said. He did not mention the three stones he also kept, hidden away from Ganondorf's prying eyes and tempted hands. Returning had been dangerous, but not returning was proving more dangerous, if his dreams were anything to go by.

Osun continued talking, and Link had to quickly shift his attention back to him, having lost his thought. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked.

Osun glanced back at him, leading him through the fortress-like castle. "I said Lord Taburd will want to see it, but he'll believe you on my account. He can get you into the castle to see the queen." He gave Link a considering look. "I've never known you to lose focus. What's on your mind?"

Link shook his head. "Nothing that needs to trouble you," he said.

"Worried about the queen? Don't too much, she'll be happy to see you."

"Something like that," Link said, dodging the subject.

Osun stopped outside a door. "Wait here, I better see if he's busy, first." He knocked, and Link heard a distant 'enter'. Link waited patiently while Osun stepped in and closed the door behind him. He heard Osun's familiar voice in conversation with another male, then the door opened and Osun motioned him in.

The room Link stepped into looked more like a war room with a giant chair at a table with maps everywhere. The man in the giant chair looked vaguely like Mido if Mido had ever grown up instead of being a Kokiri, red hair, freckles and all. He couldn't have been much older than Link himself.

"Master Osun informs me that you're a friend of the queen's," the man, who Link was assuming to be Baron Taburd, said.

"I am, sir," Link replied. "My name is Link, I'm from the Kokiri Forest, and I met her when I was ten and lived with her at the castle for two years before I left to explore."

"You lived at the castle?"

"She gave me the Ocarina of Time to protect when I left," he added. "So I have proof of my connection to her."

Taburd stayed quiet, eyes not quite focused on Link, as if he were deep in thought. "You said you came from the Kokiri Forest. But only Kokiri live there, and they don't grow up."

"I'm Hylian," Link admitted. "But my mother fled our home during the War of Unification and took me to the Deku Tree. He raised me, then sent me out to the world when I was too old to stay."

Not quite true, but Taburd didn't need to know the truth.

"Who was your mother?" Taburd asked.

"I don't know," Link replied, not liking this interrogation much. He had the Ocarina, why couldn't he just show it off and then get escorted to the castle to see Zelda? "I was an infant when that happened. I was told by a reliable source though that my father was a knight in the old king's service."

"Your mother was injured when she took you to the Deku Tree?"

"She must've been, she died getting me there."

Taburd nodded. "I'd say the Garrand family, then. That sounds like something Aunt Aumee would do, and there was never a body found for her or the son, and you look the right age. Well, Link, shall we take you to the queen?"

"That'd be nice, sir," Link said. "But what was with the interrogation about my family?"

Taburd smiled. "Because I knew your family. There were rumors that spread that Aunt Aumee disappeared into the forbidden forest, but there was so much going on that night that nobody was certain. If you're really the boy she took off with, you're my cousin. And the former king's. That'd make you the queen's second cousin, I think. I thought you might appreciate answers in exchange for the answers you were giving me."

Family. Link found himself blinking a few times, caught off guard, but then he smiled. "Thank you, cousin."


	3. Chapter 2: Savior

The last seventeen years had been long and heavy on Zelda. Too many tragedies, too much anger and too much fear.

So when one of Baron Taburd's men came announcing a 'Lord Garrand', she didn't feel terribly welcoming.

"I'm not in," she told the old man, an Osun or something like that.

"I think you'll want to see this young man, Your Majesty," he insisted. "He's wearing all green, just like he did seventeen years ago."

Her first instinct was to tell him off, to tell him to take his 'Lord Garrand' and make him go away before she had them burned at the stake for disturbing what little peace she got before her brain kicked into gear. Seventeen years ago. That was the last Hyrule had seen of a young boy who dressed all in green.

Lord Garrand, her ass.

"Show him in, and next time, don't be so deceiving with his name, Master Osun," she told him, torn between venom and glee.

Osun smiled. "Just calling him by his real name. We found his family, or what it was. I'll get him." Osun stepped out into the hall, then led _him_ in.

Oh, Link. Such a familiar face grown up, rough around the edges, hidden back in a hood attached to his tunic rather than his familiar hat, but still her precious, wonderful Link, her best friend and first love. "Please leave us, Master Osun," she said, standing and staring in wonderment at this very real ghost from her past. "Tell Lord Taburd thank you for sending along Lord Garrand."

Link made a strangled rude noise at that name and shot Osun an offended look, even as Osun bowed and walked out. Zelda waited about three seconds for Link to try to say something before she walked over and grabbed him tightly, crying out several years of heart hurt in his absence.

At first, he didn't seem to know what to do, and she didn't care, but after a few second's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and pet back her hair with hands that were covered with gauntlets and fingers that were rough with callus.

"I know I told you to go," she whispered through the dying tears, "but I've regretted that decision since."

"I was needed elsewhere, Zelda," he said quietly. "And we had to keep the keys from Ganondorf."

"Where are they?" she lifted her head to look at him. She was sure her make up was smeared and she probably no longer looked beautiful to him, if she ever had.

"With me still," he admitted. "But something worse is going on, isn't it?"

She sighed, drawing back and walking back over to her seat to sit heavily in it. He followed her, propping himself up on her desk. "There's a lot going on in Hyrule that's bad," she said quietly. "I'm sure you noticed it. People are scared, there's no peace anymore. My father forced me to marry a weasel who'd managed to get in good with him before he fell ill. And now Ganondorf is my husband's advisor. My father's peace treaties with the other nobles and races are failing with Neshir on the throne. And I've had no power to stop it."

Link frowned. "Your father fell ill when he did this? Can't you just divorce this guy and send him on his way?"

Divorce? A concept unknown to Zelda, probably one he picked up from the countries he'd been visiting, but she could guess what it meant. "My father left all the power of the throne to Neshir," she said.

"Did he lose his damn mind or something?" Link said, annoyance clear.

Oh, her father. "Yes, as a matter of fact, he did," she said, voice quiet. "He started forgetting things, recent events, then slowly, he just became... like an infant, needing constant care, not remembering anything. Neshir managed to get a proclamation of our marriage and his right to all power of the throne before my father went completely senile. Then Neshir brought in Ganondorf as his advisor and things have gone downhill."

Link was silent for a second. "What about the sages? Where are they?"

Zelda lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Disappearing," she said. "I lost contact with Nabooru about two weeks ago. Darunia and I were still on decent terms, and his son informed me that he also disappeared a few days later. The Kokiri have come out of their houses and have been chancing the adults to look for something, and I can only imagine they're looking for Saria. I've asked Lord Taburd's men to watch for a girl with green hair, and they say they haven't seen her."

"What about Impa and Ruto?" he asked, voice rising slightly in pitch.

"Ruto's still there as far as I know," Zelda said. "But Impa disappeared yesterday. I was in my outer room, talking to her while she took care of a dress for me in my bed chambers. I asked her a question and got no answer, so I went in. My dress was on the floor and Impa was nowhere to be found. My bed chambers only has one window and it's higher than even a Sheikah can jump. She was just gone."

Link's eyes drifted close, worry etched across his face. "It's Ganondorf's doing," he said. "And I'll bet he's having Twinrova do it for him."

"I had a feeling," she said. "I don't know about Twinrova, but I knew it was Ganondorf's doing. I've been having dreams again. But in them, there was no light from the forest to drive away the dark cloud."

"I've been having dreams, too," Link said, opening his eyes and looking down at her. "That's what brought me back. Whatever he's doing, it's working to open the way to the Sacred Realm, if my dreams are correct."

"What _is_ he doing?" she asked.

"That I don't know," he said. "But I can almost guarantee it has something to do with the sages disappearing."

"We can't fight him head on like we did before," she said. "Not with the political power he has and I don't. Unless you have care to just go into the Sacred Realm now and grab the Triforce now."

"Not really." He shook his head. "I'd rather leave that thing sit where it is. But it still needs protecting. And Hyrule needs fixing. My family died in the War of Unification, I won't let that rat and Ganondorf undo what they died to do."

She gave him a faint, amused smile. "So, Lord Garrand, huh?"

Link sighed deeply, rolling his eyes. "Please. I'm 'Lord' nothing. It's a family name on lost lands. Those are Taburd's lands now, and I don't have interest in taking them back. I have more important duties to you and the goddesses."

"You list me first?"

"You're more important to me."

"Careful, one of them might smite you for that."

Link chuckled. "Maybe, but they know where my heart's always been."

She felt a flush creep up her neck and to her cheeks. If things had gone differently, if his family hadn't died off, he would've been considered a good match for her, hopefully before her father's illness set in. Things could've been so very different.

But then, if he'd been raised nobility instead of Kokiri, he would've been a very different person, so maybe it wouldn't have been as ideal for them as it would now.

If only she weren't married already.

"Neshir's been causing the destruction of those treaties that held Hyrule together," she finally said, catching her breath. "The country's on the brink of civil war again. At this point, the only way to fix it that I can think is to declare war on Neshir and gather whatever forces are loyal to me."

For a moment, Link looked distant, like he was a million miles away. "Do you know who's all loyal to you yet?"

"The Taburds are," she said. "Lord Taburd would know more who else is, he keeps in contact with other nobles better than I can from my pretty guided cage."

"Do you have a map of Hyrule marking territory boundaries?" he asked.

"I do, why?"

"Let's take a look," he said, straightening off her desk.

She got up and went to the cabinet of her sitting room, digging through various maps and papers that no longer mattered to a queen without power. She finally found what she was looking for and took it back to the desk, spreading it out for him to see.

He studied it, then pointed to Taburd's lands. "We need all of these on our side," he said, sweeping his finger in an arc around Taburd's lands. "The Kokiri can't do anything, but I can probably get the new Deku Tree to put up a barrier to keep people from getting in or out that way. What's the story with the Gorons and the Zora?"

"The Gorons have blocked off the route to Death Mountain. Queen Ruto is kept just barely mollified to keep the river flowing here. Neshir is clumsy with dealing with her. She's rather prickly, though."

"I remember that, she's a spoiled brat," Link said, frowning. "I need to get to her and Darunia's son and get them on our side. Shouldn't be too hard for us, we're old friends of those two races. I want someone over by Gerudo Desert to block them from joining things. Keep the majority of the battle here at the castle, block Neshir in. We also have to figure out where to hide Ruto. Anywhere wet will be too obvious, but she can't stray from water, or she'll dehydrate. You, I can take with me and keep you on the run."

"Me?" Zelda looked at him. "No, you must find this seventh sage, this Sheik, and protect him."

Link shook his head. "Zelda, you _are_ Sheik. I know I didn't get really specific about that when we were younger, but no, you're the seventh sage. The sage of the Temple of Time. You disappear, and we're in big trouble. Ruto's bound to be next, I'm not sure I can protect her. But you I can."

Zelda sat down hard. "Me? But. Oh, Link, I'm surely not her anymore. I can't be. I've changed too much."

"And we've all changed," Link pointed out. "Saria's probably the only one who hasn't. But they're all the same, and they're all disappearing. That'll be you next."

She stared down at the map. "We're waging war on the king," she said. "As soon as I leave with you, it's throwing down the gauntlet. We won't have much time to amass an army."

"Neither will they," Link pointed out.

She considered. "The only real army Neshir has is the royal guard, who are all soft. He has a few barons and viscounts that have been benefiting from his weaseling, but the majority army he'll get will be the Gerudo from Ganondorf."

"And his pet army of monsters," Link added. "I don't know how many he can amass without the Triforce of Power, but he had them before then. We'll need a big army. What's this large county over here?"

"That's Countess Vorai's territory," Zelda answered. "She's a military powerhouse, but she's had wavering loyalties. She's been known to chase off Neshir's people, but she's also made deals with the Gerudo for commerce and trade with the desert towns just on the edge of Gerudo territory."

"We need her," Link said firmly. "Can you get to her?"

"I can try," Zelda said, firm in her conviction.

"Good, we need her to block that border, and if she's a powerhouse, we could use some of her infantry at the castle."

Zelda didn't know if the lump in her stomach was fear or giddiness. She was deeply afraid of repeating the war her father waged, but Neshir and Ganondorf had left her little choice at this point. But she was giddy; Link was home, and helping to fix things again, and she'd finally get to squish the two very big bugs that had been stalking the halls of her home for too long.

"I'll go get into travel clothes," she said. "Come on." She stood and grabbed his hand, rushing out the door of her drawing room.

Link squawked, a thoroughly undignified sound, but he caught up to her easily. "Easy, Zelda. You don't have to run."

She paused in her steps to look at him. "I have been living with those rats under my heels and haven't been allowed to squish their soft little heads for twelve years. I'm going to squish them now and love doing it."

Link's ears flattened. "I understand, but we _can_ walk to your room."

She made a face at him. "Very well." But she didn't let go of his hand, hoping he'd not let go of hers. When he didn't, she felt heat in her cheeks again, all the way up to the tips of her ears. If Link noticed her blushing, he didn't say anything about it.

Once they were inside her inner chambers, she let him go. "I was standing here," she said, demonstrating. "I was talking to Impa in there, and then silence." She led him to her bedroom. "See? One window, too high up for even her."

Link walked over to the window, looking out. He made a small noise of consideration. "Yeah, way too high." He looked back at her as she sat down on the bed, studying him. He'd turned his tunic into more of a cloak, a deep cowl and excess length down the legs. It looked like he was wearing chain mail, too. He'd grown up into a warrior, perhaps more a soldier than a hero. But she knew he was still the Hero, and even if destiny had handed that title to someone else, he'd always be the Hero in her world.

He looked around. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "Just looking at you. It's so hard to believe you're back."

He smiled, which was still beautiful, still full of youthful mirth, and she knew he was still who she'd seen leave seventeen years ago. "I'm really here," he assured her.

"Should I leave?" an unfamiliar high-pitched voice asked.

Zelda looked around in alarm. "Who said that?"

Out from under Link's hood zipped a little yellow fairy. "I'm Tatl, a friend. I knew he'd need help, so I came along, but I didn't know there'd be a romantic reunion I'd be spying on."

While Link turned red and swatted at Tatl, Zelda felt her face heat up again. "It's, no, Tatl. We're just old friends."

Link scowled, pulling back his hood. His hair had grown out some. "If you're not going to stay quiet, be helpful," he grumbled at his fairy companion.

Tatl flew between them. "I'll be helpful," she said, and Zelda had a horrible feeling that 'help' may be more in the matchmaker capacity. Not that she needed much help on her end, but Link had been away so many years, whatever he might've felt might've cooled in absence. Or he might have someone somewhere else. The thought made her ill.

"Where is she?" her husband's shrill voice demanded as the door to her inner room outside the bedroom opened with a loud thunk.

She grabbed her Sheikah dagger from her bedside and stormed outside. "I warned you, Neshir!" she yelled at him. "Cross my doorstep and I'll change your gender through nonmagical means!"

Link followed her slowly, and she felt a cold, dangerous vibe from him that almost made her back off and let him handle it. But Neshir had crossed her too many times, and the taste of his blood on her blade was temptingly in reach, now that war was about to be declared.

"But you'll drag in a commoner, you harlot?" Neshir shouted.

Link put a hand on Zelda's shoulder before she could say anything further. "I don't think you want to ever call her that again," he said, that wintry sense of danger she'd felt off of him lacing his voice like a gentle poison. "You'll leave, now, and you'll go tell your puppet master Ganondorf that his worst nightmare has come home."

"How dare you, you little-"

Link drew his sword, a heavy-looking blade that he held without trouble. "This is your only warning, Neshir. The next words had better be 'goodbye', or you'll find out how good nineteen years of swordplay has made me."

Neshir stared down the tip of Link's sword, and for a moment, Zelda thought her idiot husband might push Link into killing him, but he sneered, bowed to Zelda, and left.

Zelda started to relax, then tensed again when Link's sword smacked the ground soundly, and he held his sword arm side with his right hand, his left still barely holding his sword's hilt. "Link, what's wrong?"

"I think you need that medicine now," Tatl said. "Before we leave the castle."

"Medicine?" She looked at the fairy. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Link sucked in a breath. "Got shot with an arrow about four weeks ago. It's mostly healed, but this sword's heavy."

"Oh, Link," Zelda said, hand over her mouth. How close she'd come to losing him without ever knowing. She hurried over to her chest that she kept her travel things in. "Here, here's some medicine." She handed over the bottle of red liquid.

"Thanks," he said, taking a seat and setting his sword against the chair's arm before uncapping the bottle and taking a swallow. He closed his eyes, recapping the bottle. "I've missed that feeling. That whole waiting forever while using herbs and roots to clean up the stitches thing was tedious." He grabbed his sword with much more ease this time, and resheathed it. "So,we travel back to Taburd's. We may beat Master Osun there."

She smiled. "He'll be surprised to see us. Excuse me, I have to change now." She grabbed her tunic and pants from the chest and disappeared into her room.


	4. Chapter 3: The Same Side

Link lazily swatted at Tatl, who was still fluttering around his face, making bell sounds.

"She's obviously in love with you," Tatl said flippantly, keeping her voice low while Zelda changed.

"Stop it, Tatl," Link said. "Whether she is or not doesn't matter."

"Why, don't you love her?"

"Also not the point," he said, not quite answering, but probably answering enough for Tatl's little brain. "I'm her cousin."

"She's royalty, Neshir's probably her cousin, too."

Link huffed. "Let it be, Tatl. For once, throw away your 'female instincts' and stay out of it."

"You males," Tatl said, sounding put out.

"I mean it, Tatl," Link warned, sticking his finger in her face. She buzzed angrily at him, but didn't say anything more. He took it as a victory as much as he could.

Zelda emerged a moment later, her hair pulled up into a ponytail and her nice dress exchanged for a nice tunic and riding pants and boots. Not exactly long-distance road appropriate, but it'd get them to Taburd's where they could get her real clothes.

He stood. looking her over. "That'll work for now," he said, then offered her his hand. She took it, smiling up at him. "Shall we go declare war on your husband?"

"Best idea I've heard in a long time," she said, taking his hand.

He kept the flush from showing by pulling up his hood with his free hand. "Do you want to go to the throne room and do it formally, or just leave?"

"I want to surprise him for his birthday," she said, her tone betraying more than what she truly thought of Neshir.

"Then we'll saddle you up a horse and head for Taburd's. I'd offer to let you ride with me, but it'd be uncomfortable. My saddle isn't designed for two."

Once down in the stables, Zelda saddled up a horse while Link tended to Epona, making sure they had treated her right while she was in there. He found no complaints, so he led her out of the stables and mounted, waiting patiently for Zelda.

She followed him out a moment later. "Ready?"

Link nodded. "Whenever you are, Zelda."

They urged their horses into a long gait, out of the castle barriers, slowing through the town, then picking up speed again on the field.

"Do you want me to handle Taburd while you to go to the forest?" Zelda shouted over the wind at him.

He shook his head. "No, I don't want you out of my sight, not as long as Twinrova's around."

"Are you sure it's them and not Ganondorf directly?"

"I'm sure," he said. "Their specialty was brainwashing, but they had plenty of other magic. Ganondorf has magic, but not on that level."

"Then we'll have a lot of traveling to do," she said, pointing what had to be the obvious. "If we'll not split ways, we'll have to see to all these alliance personally."

"Only with the Gorons and Zora," Link said. "But that won't take long. The others can receive letters written by you and sent out by Taburd's people."

"You know this game."

"War isn't a game, my queen," he said tersely. Zelda had never seen such conflict, not as an infant in the last days of the War of Unification, and while Link also didn't remember that war, he'd seen a few since.

If war was a game, it was a deadly one.

She fell silent, and remained so for the next half a day that it took to get to Taburd's fortress. This time, they were let in immediately, by Osun who'd only beaten them back by hours.

"What're you doing here again, boy?" he demanded of Link as Link hopped down off of Epona's back.

"We're waging war, Master Osun," he said. "The queen needs to talk to Lord Taburd as quickly as possible."

Osun bowed to Zelda and Link. "This way," he said. Link motioned for Zelda to follow first, taking up the rear to watch their flank. Now that war had been decided upon, his paranoia was kicking up.

He relaxed once they were inside, away from potential crossbow snipers, but then the idea of an assassination made him tense again. It was stupid, Taburd was an ally, but he had run away with the queen of Hyrule in defiance to the king and Ganondorf, war was inevitable, and Twinrova was out there somewhere.

He had a feeling he'd be jumping at shadows for awhile.

Link found himself once again in Taburd's war room, or whatever it was. The baron looked up and blinked in confusion. "I thought I sent you off," he said.

"I came back," Link said. "And I brought you a present."

Taburd looked over at Zelda a moment, then bowed. "My queen," he said.

Zelda smiled. "Lord Taburd. I heard you are still loyal to me, is that right?"

"Of course it is, Your Majesty," Taburd replied. "It was always you that ruled Hyrule to me."

Zelda nodded. "Who else holds that sort of loyalty to me and not my husband?"

"Compton, I know of for certain. Rampston, Spicer and Pole. I'd question Talnen, but he might be, if talked into it." Taburd looked thoughtful. "You _might_ get Countess Vorai, but she'd be hard to convince."

"I'll need her," Zelda said. "Leave her to me. Who else?"

"Probably the Gorons and Zora, but it'd be tough to get to them, they've both blocked off access to their realms," Taburd said.

"I'll handle them," Link said. "I'm old friends with them."

"Lord Taburd, can I count on you to organize my forces while I depart with Link to the Goron and Zora realms?"

"You can, my queen," Taburd said. "I'll need you to give me letters to send out, we'll gather the army here. I'll be your coordinator, if that's all right with you."

"That suits me well, Lord Taburd," Zelda said.

"It's your forces in my forest, right?" Link asked.

Taburd nodded, grim-faced. "The king ordered it."

"Remove them, we'll need them and the Kokiri don't need adults in their world," Zelda said. "You have my full permission to ignore any orders handed down by Neshir."

"My men will be glad," Taburd said. "They hate that forest."

"Don't blame them, it's not made for outsiders," Link said.

Link moved to look at a map on the wall. He'd already plotted which territories they had to have on their side, and it looked like they pretty well had that in hand, along with a handful further in from the forest. "Where are the ones we don't have?" he asked.

Taburd got up and moved over next to him, joined quickly by Zelda. "That one right in the center may be a problem," he said.

"Lon Lon Ranch is in there," Link said. "I'll talk to Talon and Malon, have them cut off supplies if they don't help us. Losing their biggest money maker oughta shake 'em up. Who's in charge there?"

"Lady Chitaur. She's a nasty old broad."

"Then she'll just hate me," Link said. "I'm cutting her off from Lon Lon Ranch."

"She definitely won't have any love for you, lad," Taburd agreed.

"Why is she loyal to Neshir?" Link looked over at his cousin.

"She's not," Taburd said. "She hates the royals in general. I don't think she's too happy about the tariffs Neshir's laid down."

"Then I'll work with her," Zelda said. "I never did agree with those taxes anyway."

"We'll send letters then, Your Majesty," Taburd said. "Maybe we can get her to listen without cutting off the ranch."

"If I promise to lift those taxes, that should put her squarely in my court," Zelda said.

"Maybe." Link stared at the viscounty. "She might not believe you could win, and if she doesn't, she's not going to do anything to get more taxes laid on her by pissing in the king's wine. If she doesn't listen, I'm cutting off the ranch. If that doesn't get her attention, she's a lost cause and we'll just deal with her when things are over."

"You've gotten cynical, Link," Zelda said.

"I've planned a few revolutions," he said. "And I wasn't kidding when I said that before. This is old hat for me." He looked over at Taburd. "Zelda's pretty sure we can get Vorai. What do you think?"

Taburd released a deep breath as he considered. "It'll be tricky. What were you planning on offering her, my queen?"

"Control of the army," Zelda said. "There'll be no more of this soft royal guard that leaves us unable to defend ourselves. The world's a big place, and if Link's seen war out there, I don't think we should chance it coming here without being prepared. We'll have a standing army, and she'll be in charge."

"That's a change some of the people won't like, Your Majesty," Taburd warned her.

"I know," Zelda said with a deep sigh. "But we can no longer ignore our country's defenses. Besides, how _else_ can we prevent this kind of thing from happening again?"

Link didn't like the feeling he got from that, it smelled too much like situations he'd seen elsewhere. Zelda wouldn't fall into the trap of abusing the lower class while the standing army prevented revolution, but some future royal might. But she made a point, with the Deku Tree so tiny, and adults freely roaming the forest now, outside forces could come in, especially if they got wind of the Sacred Realm.

Maybe it was a good idea. It still sat uncomfortably with him.

He turned to Zelda. "Did you want to send a letter to Countess Vorai, or handle her personally?"

"If you're to disguise me, I should send a letter, especially so close to Gerudo territory. I'd rather handle her personally, but that won't be possible."

"Why're we disguising the queen?" Taburd asked. "To hide her from Neshir?"

Link shook his head. "This is a bit more important. Ganondorf is after the Triforce. He's been making the sages of the temples disappear to do it, since he can't get the keys to the door in the Temple of Time. She and one other are the last two sages left. I can't protect the other one, but I'll protect Zelda."

Taburd looked at Zelda. "You're a sage? Can't say that I'm surprised, I always knew you had the wisdom to be one."

Zelda turned red. "It's just a title, until the Sacred Realm is in danger, I don't have any of the sage's abilities. It's the Hero of Time that's got the power right now."

"Not without the Master Sword," Link said, trying to dodge getting singled out himself.

She looked up at him. "I'd say he's got plenty of power right now." She glanced at Taburd. "Get me paper and ink, I'll pen those letters so we can get things started."

"I'll also need to make a disguise for Zelda quickly," Link said.

Taburd gave Link a shrewd look. "I'll see to that," he assured him, then looked at Zelda. "I have some in here. Come, sit, I'll get it out."

Link didn't like that look he got, knew that Taburd had figured out that Zelda had just pointed to him as the Hero, but he let it pass. Wasn't much help for it, was there? He figured it out, he knew Zelda was a sage of the realm, he knew as much as he needed to know.

"Will you two stay the night?" Taburd asked. "We'll have rooms prepared immediately. You could use a rest while these letters start on their way."

Link glanced out the window. "Might be a good idea, it's getting late," he said.

Zelda nodded as she sat at the table. "Thank you, Lord Taburd. Link, go on ahead of me, there's a lot of letters to write, I'll be awhile."

"All right," Link said.

Osun motioned to him. "This way, lad."


	5. Chapter 4: Home

Zelda's hand hurt from writing all those letters; seven in all, lengthy pieces of political pleading to stand with her and fight an unfair king who was ripping apart Hyrule. They really amounted to calling Neshir a big poopyhead that needed to be kicked out of the sandbox, but they served their purpose. Her hand was cramping and every single finger wanted to pop at every joint.

She sealed the last one with her crest and handed it to Taburd, sitting back in her chair. "Where is Master Osun?" she asked. "I'd like to be led to my room now to rest before dinner."

"There's not a lot of time before that, old Griselda runs the kitchens and she's very punctual, but you have time to clean up and rest a little before she puts food out," Taburd said.

"That's all I ask for, Lord Taburd," she said wearily, getting up from the chair.

Osun returned to the room at Taburd's summons. "This way, my queen," he said with a bow. Once they were in the hall, he looked back at her. "You oughta be suspicious of that hero of yours," he said. "He's up to something in his room. He's sewing something, and it seems strange. He asked for a white robe, black riding pants and a shirt and some red fabric. Dunno what he's up to, though."

Zelda frowned. "I didn't know he could sew."

"Suppose it only makes sense," Osun said. "Living with the Kokiri, they didn't have adults to do that kind of stuff for them. They had to do it themselves. Probably learned then."

"That makes sense," Zelda agreed. "Where are his quarters in relation to mine?"

"Right next door, my queen," Osun said. "I thought you two wouldn't want to be too separated."

"You guessed correctly, Master Osun," she said with a smile. In truth, she would've preferred to share a room, feeling tired and paranoid by Link's warnings about this Twinrova. They didn't have time to try to beat Ganondorf to the Sacred Realm while fighting this war. She had to stay hidden and protected and the only one she trusted to do that was Link.

But it'd be very inappropriate for her to share his quarters. She was sure those loyal to her would ignore her marriage; it was no secret she hated him, and he soon wouldn't be her husband, whether through death or some other creative method.

But neither was Link her husband, and rumors would spread, and that was the last thing she needed, something to possibly discredit her.

Some part of her didn't care, how it didn't care! In fact, that part argued that rumors might spread anyway, regardless, with them traveling close together. But the other part of her argued that she didn't have to encourage those rumors.

Curse that other side.

She entered her quarters once shown there, bid Osun farewell, and went and flopped on her bed and began the tedious process of cracking her sore fingers.

"Am I interrupting?" came a small voice that Zelda just barely recognized.

"Tatl?"

The little fairy rose up from her spot by the basin. "Link kicked me out because he said I was distracting him. Boys. So I thought I'd come keep you company, if you wanted."

Zelda smiled. "You can keep me company. I'm just tired from writing all those letters."

Tatl flew over and hovered around Zelda's head. "This is all overwhelming," she said. "I saw things happen with Link, but that was monsters and evil masks, not a real war between real people who are going to fight and die. It's kinda scary."

Zelda considered that. "It _is_ scary," she said. "But it is a war we will win. We have to. The country must not lose its unity, we'll be reduced to petty fights and squabbling that the poor will be caught up in. If we unify now, and end this, things will become peaceful again, the way they had been under my father's rule, and will be under mine. I'll not lose my country to that rat on the throne."

For a long moment, Tatl didn't say anything, chiming quietly to herself. "Who's this Ganondorf?" she finally asked. "And what's this Triforce he's after? We don't have these legends in Termina."

"Termina, is that where you're from?" Zelda watched the little fairy float around above her head.

"Mmhmm." Tatl chimed again. "It's technically in a different dimension, but my brother and Skull Kid and I travel between the forest and there pretty easily. It's not hard. But you avoided the questions."

"I got distracted from the questions," Zelda said, arguing a bit. "But to answer them, Ganondorf is the leader of the Gerudo tribe out in the Western desert, beyond the Haunted Wasteland. He's made a bid for the Triforce before, but Link and I thwarted him by sending away the keys to the realm where it sits. Now he's gotten in good with my husband and more rules the country than Neshir does."

"What's this Triforce?"

Zelda smiled, sitting up and giving Tatl a shoulder to settle on. "It's the power of the gods. Din, Nayru and Farore created the world, then left, and where they left created a symbol of their power, three golden triangles called the Triforce. The perfect balance of power, wisdom and courage. You have to have these three virtues in balance to obtain the whole Triforce, but just having one piece gives you power enough to ruin a country."

"And Ganondorf is after it? And he's the evil one that's caused all these problems in Hyrule?"

Zelda nodded. "Link says there was another timeline he lived in where Ganondorf _had_ gotten the Triforce of Power and decimated Hyrule into a world of monsters and demons. The sages sealed him into the realm and my alternate there sent him back to his original time. He'd missed seven years of his life, that wasn't fair to him."

Tatl didn't seem inclined to question how Link had missed seven years, but she did decide to speak up again. "What's this about him using these sages to get in? Link hasn't explained any of this to me."

Zelda frowned. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "He's had dreams where something happens to them and Ganondorf gets into the Sacred Realm, but you know as much as I do on that front. That's all he's said. He's distracted, he's trying to plan a war and save the sages and the Triforce all at once. I imagine he'll tell us if we ask next time we have opportunity."

Tatl sighed, resting heavily on Zelda's right shoulder. "He's so different," she said. "He was such a carefree little kid, even when he was fighting monsters and saving lives. Now he's- I guess he's just older and I don't like it, but then, I've been around the Skull Kid and the Kokiri too long. Nobody grows or changes. Link has."

"He's changed for me, too," Zelda said. "You've seen him more recently than I. He's a bit colder."

"He's seen other wars, according to him," Tatl said. "How serious do you think he was about that? Was he really serious, or just quipping?"

"I think he was dead serious," Zelda said grimly. "I don't know where or why, but he found people needing help and stepped in, as usual."

"He definitely seems to know what he's doing with all this planning," Tatl said.

There was a knock at the door that interrupted Zelda's reply before she could formulate it. "Enter."

Osun stuck his head. "It's time for dinner, Your Majesty," he said. "And I think Link has decided to take his dinner in his room. He says he's busy."

Zelda's brow creased slightly. "Then I'll take my meal in his room, too, unless your kitchens would be too disappointed."

That made Osun laugh. "Griselda doesn't even know you're here, Your Majesty. She gets nervous when there's visiting nobility, I think a royal would send her into convulsions. We just told her there were two more mouths to feed."

Zelda stopped by Link's door. "Then send meals for both of us, Master Osun," she said. "I'll see what he's up to and how I can bother him."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Osun turned and continued on his way down the halls. Zelda knocked on Link's door.

"Osun, I told you, I'm eating in here," Link's voice came from the other side, sounding vaguely annoyed, vaguely distracted.

Zelda opened the door a crack to look in. "It's me, Link," she said quietly. Tatl flew in over her head.

Link looked up in surprise. "Come on in," he said, then went back to work, sewing the red fabric onto the white robe, which by now, had a hood on it, and looked like it had been shortened considerably.

"What _are_ you doing?" Zelda asked, walking over, mindful of fabric and possible needles.

"Making you a disguise," he replied, distracted by sewing the red fabric on. Zelda studied it a moment, twisting her head around to look at it better. "The Sheikah symbol. You're disguising me as a Sheikah?"

Link nodded, cutting a thread with his teeth. "Yup. Wish I had Impa's magic, she could've done it a lot easier."

Zelda sat down on the edge of his bed. "What exactly this thing you're making?"

"A Sheikah robe. Where do you think I got the idea for mine?"

"Why white? Wouldn't that make me stand out more?"

"Not as a Sheikah," Link said, still sewing with quick fingers. "White is the color of death, and the Sheikah are also the guardians of the dead, not just the royal family."

"I didn't know that," Zelda confessed. "Did Impa teach you that? While she was training you in swordplay?"

Link nodded, then swore quietly. "Hate it when I do that."

"Do what?"

"Prick my finger on the needle," he said. "Why don't you go to dinner, I'll have this finished by morning."

Zelda shook her head. "No, I'm taking my dinner in here with you. If you think talking would be too much of a distraction, I'll talk to Tatl, instead, but I'd rather be near you with this Twinrova skulking about."

Link looked thoughtful, pausing in his sewing. "Yeah, that's a good idea." Then he went back to work silently, sewing the Sheikah symbol onto the front of the robe.

Tatl chimed. "Maybe she should stay in here tonight," she suggested. "It might be safer if you two just room together. You won't know if they zap her out of existence or whatever they're doing if you're asleep in another room."

Zelda turned red. "That'd be wildly inappropriate, Tatl," she said.

"No, it's a good idea," Link said around teeth clenched to hold a thread. He finished his stitch and set down the robe, stabbing the fabric with the needle. "Tatl's right, I need you where I can protect you."

"Link, if people knew we were sharing a room, rumors would start to discredit me."

"We'll deal with that if we have to," he said. She sighed, even as he continued. "I'll sleep on the floor, it doesn't bother me. As long as you don't mind a candle burning tonight while I finish this."

"Are you not planning on sleeping?" she asked incredulously. "Link, we have a busy day tomorrow, you can't afford to not sleep."

"I can sleep in the saddle on the way to Zora's Domain. It's a ways off. I'll be fine."

There was a knock on the door that interrupted their conversation. "Come in!" Link called, still barely looking up from his work.

A servant girl stepped in, a tray with two plates of food that smelled absolutely fabulous to Zelda came in. "Dinner for Master Link and Queen Zelda?" she said, less of a statement borne of confidence and more a question of nerves.

Zelda walked over and took the tray from her gently. "Thank you," she said. "It smells delicious, please send our regards to the kitchens for us."

The servant bowed and hurried out. Zelda walked over to the table and set down the tray. "Link, leave your sewing long enough to come eat," she commanded.

Link sighed as he got up and walked to the table. "So what do we have?"

Zelda looked over theplates. "Well, I see red potatoes and chicken, I think that's chicken, and a broth and rice. It smells divine."

Her companion didn't seem as enthusiastic about the food as she was, not in a culinary sense, as much as 'it's food, give me'. Men. Men on the road. Uncouth, all of them.

As she took a careful sip of her broth, she glance up at Link, who was devouring his potatoes. "Where'd you learn to sew?" she asked once she'd swallowed.

Link looked up, chewing and blinking in confusion, then looked up, and Zelda wasn't sure if he was trying to remember when, or if he was impatient to finish chewing to answer her.

Finally, he swallowed. "Out on the road. I kept outgrowing my clothes. Finally stopped growing and just went for this. It's a Sheikah robe, and it's a bit more comfortable than what I used to wear, especially once I got further East where it got colder."

"I always wondered why you didn't bundle up before going up that mountain," Tatl said.

"Because I was a dumb kid who'd never experienced such numbing cold," Link said, breaking off a small piece of potato and setting it on the table. Tatl descended upon it, and within seconds it was gone. She made a happy bell sound, then settled on the table.

Zelda watched this easy partnership, this sharing of food, with some small measure of jealousy. Link had been her only real friend as a child, and if not for Impa, she would've spent the last seventeen years completely alone. But Link had met and made friends on his travels, friends that fell back into easy step with him. While he was exploring, she was trapped in the palace.

If she didn't love him and miss him so much, she'd almost resent him.

She didn't let that thought stick around long, eating silently, occasionally glancing up at Link and Tatl. He was doing his own part to protect the Sacred Realm, he couldn't help meeting people on his travels. And it was hardly his fault that she was married off and given no power and now stuck with Ganondorf all but running things. He had no way of knowing, and she'd been the one to send him off.

The important thing was that he was back now, and with him came the end of the darkness.

Her world was coming alive again.


	6. Chapter 5: Sleep Away

Link almost didn't notice when Zelda fell asleep, her conversation with Tatl dropping off into silence that barely registered to Link as he worked. The main eye and three triangles on top were done, but the tear was taking some creative work to make the curves symmetrical. He'd never sewn anything elaborate before, just tunics and the Sheikah robe he wore, but never something with embellishments.

Tatl flew over, illuminating his work more than the pitiful candle was. "You're good at this, Link," she said quietly.

Link glanced up at her and smiled. "Thanks. I've had practice. Kept outgrowing my tunics almost as fast as I could make them." He kept his voice low to avoid waking Zelda.

"What does this symbol mean?"

Link frowned. "Long time ago, the Sheikah just had the eye. They served the Royal family as shadow guardians that saw everything. The tear was added when the royals betrayed them. I don't know the story of that. Impa might."

Tatl went quiet, floating around, offering Link her light. His fingers worked quickly. "This has got to be the shittiest work I've ever done," he grumbled.

"But you don't have much time to devote to it," Tatl reminded him. "So don't be so hard on yourself."

"It'll do, I suppose," he said as he sewed on the last of the tear. It looked right, at least. That left hemming the bottom of the robe. His fingers were going to be very sore in the morning, between the repetitive motions and the constant stabbing of needles. For all his experience at making his own clothes, he really couldn't go a single piece of clothing without stabbing himself multiple times.

He worked long into the night, Tatl eventually having to surrender to sleep and settled down by Zelda, casting a faint yellow light on the queen's face. Link occasionally glanced up and just watched them, his girls at his side, tried and true friends. He didn't let his gaze linger, just quick glances before returning to his work.

By the time the rising sun made its way into his room, he was just settling in for a short nap, his work completed. It wasn't fancy, not by a long shot, but the symbol on it would hold, and the bottom hem shouldn't fray too much. He was a bit unsure about the hood, but as long as nobody grabbed her by it, it should hold. He could always touch it up on the road when they bedded down for the night.

He felt like he'd no sooner closed his eyes when a knock at the door jarred him into artificial awakeness, reaching for his sword.

A servant stuck her head in. "Begging your pardon, Lord Garrand, but breakfast is almost ready."

Link sighed. He had a feeling he might not hear the end of that silly name. "Thank you. I'll be there shortly."

The door closed and Link sighed, running a hand over his face. Well, time to get up. The sun was higher in the sky than when he'd laid down, so he'd gotten _some_ sleep, but not enough. Like he told Zelda the night before, he'd be sleeping in the saddle.

Tatl made a bell noise from her position by Zelda's head and flew up sleepily. "Should we wake her?"

Link nodded, pushing himself to his feet. "She'll want breakfast. I don't know when we'll get a real meal for awhile now."

Zelda had slept through all of this, making Link worry that either she had not gotten enough sleep then night before, or that she was a heavy sleeper. Heavy sleepers tended to be dead sleepers on the road.

Sigh.

He stood, strapped his sword on his back, and set aside the robe he made and walked over to the bed. "Zelda?" He touched her shoulder gently.

"Hm?" She woke up slowly, looking around the room. "Oh, Link." She smiled, sitting up cautiously. "I had a wonderful dream you'd come home."

Tired though he was, Link couldn't help but smile at that. "I did," he told her, reaching for her hand. "Let's go get breakfast."


	7. Chapter 6: Night Falls In

"What do you mean, we're leaving my horse?" Zelda demanded, uncomfortable in the poor-fitting black riding pants, a too-tight black shirt and an unfamiliar robe that shaded her eyes too much in the early morning sun.

Link sighed. "Your horse is too recognizable. She's a royal horse, she stands out, even without the trappings of your saddle and bridle. Lord Taburd will take care of her, you'll borrow one of his."

"She's my favorite horse!" Zelda protested, pushing the hood back from her face.

"Exactly why she's staying here," Link said, stepping over to her and gently pulling her hood back up. If she weren't so indignant, she'd have butterflies in her stomach at the proximity.

"And what about you? You're going to ride a nineteen-year-old horse that you've ridden since you were ten around? She's just as recognizable."

"Not really," Link said. "She hasn't been seen in Hyrule since she was a foal, she won't be recognized."

"I don't think this is fair." Zelda stared hard at him. "I have to give up my favorite horse, but you don't?"

Link gave her a look that she could only describe as tired. "For one, Epona would follow me anyway, so rather than look like we have a random horse following us, I'm going to ride her. For another, life is not fair, and it's especially not fair when you're planning and participating in a war. We don't have time for your spoiled royal act, you're more practical than that."

Her jaw dropped. If she were candid, she'd admit to the fact that she'd been spoiled most of her life, and until Neshir came along, she'd rarely been told 'no' to her demands, but she wasn't feeling very candid, nor generous. She was uncomfortable in those clothes, she hadn't slept much the night before, kept more awake by Link and Tatl's conversations more than they probably realized, and now she was told to leave her beloved horse behind at a near-stranger's home and take a different one.

She damn near slapped him.

But his accusation of her practicality won out, and she sighed, glaring at him. "Fine. I'll take a different horse. I'll see to it that the stables treat Lanayru well." With that, she turned on her booted heel- that was another thing, those boots weren't hers and they were as uncomfortable as her riding pants -and stormed over to where her horse had been stabled the day before.

"Morning, my queen," a young stable hand, barely older than she had been when she last saw Link, greeted her, readying a horse for riding.

"Is that the horse I'm to ride?" she asked, trying to leech her annoyance out of her voice. It was hardly the boy's fault that she was in a bad mood, and she tried not to take any temper tantrums out on the help.

It didn't seem to work as much as she'd thought it would, as the boy cowered a bit. "It is, my queen. I've already seen to Lanayru, she's eating her oats right now. This is Thorin, she'll treat you right, I've had a talk with her." He spoke quickly, like he was trying to get his word in before she could get angry.

His attitude broke her temper and she sighed, giving him a small, but heartfelt smile. "Thank you," she told him. "I'm sure Thorin and I will get along just fine. Take care of Lanayru for me."

The boy brightened. "I sure will, Your Majesty, just you wait and see!"

She tapped the brim of his cap. "I'm sure you will," she said, then led Thorin out to the courtyard where Link was already waiting on Epona. "I'm ready, Link," she said, mounting Thorin. Though the saddle and horse were unfamiliar to her, it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, the saddle felt more comfortable than the stiffer ones they used in the royal stables, more relaxed.

"We'd better go to Zora's Domain first," he said as they started out. "We have to make sure Ruto's still around, try to figure out where to hide her that she'd be safe. We also need to secure her alliance. If we can get her to cut Neshir's access to water off, the war at the castle should be easy. Still gotta deal with cutting off the desert, though. I wonder if the Zora River can flood that area."

He looked thoughtful, and Zelda hated to bring up the problem with that idea. "Link, she'd have to reroute the whole river to do that."

Link looked over at her, then his ears drooped a bit. "Yeah, I forgot about that."

Zelda gave him an exasperated look. "How'd you forget that?"

"I've been gone for a long time, Zelda," he reminded her. "I've forgotten things."

That broke her heart. He'd been gone so long he'd forgotten so much about his home. "You'll remember." He had to, she couldn't face it if he didn't. Hyrule was his homeland, he couldn't forget it for long, especially not living there now.

He would live there again, right?

She let that thought go for the moment. She'd have time to worry about that once the war was over. If he tried to leave, she'd beg him to stay. On her knees, if necessary. She couldn't stand to lose him. Not again.

"Tell me about your dreams?" she asked after some time had passed. "You only told me that whatever Ganondorf's doing to the sages, it's opening the Sacred Realm."

"That's pretty much all I know," he said. "In my dreams, I was in an unfamiliar temple, and I could hear the sages' voices, and Ganondorf's laughing. Then I saw the Triforce, and then darkness covered it. All I can guess is that he's doing something that'll get him in and it has to do with the sages."

"Maybe he's sending them to the Sacred Realm? I don't know how, but that sounds like something he'd do."

Link was quiet, a frown on his face. "Maybe. I don't know how, unless he's sending them through the temples. But Impa disappeared from your bedroom, not in the temple."

"Maybe he's routing power through the temples?" Zelda said. "I'm completely guessing, because I'm otherwise as clueless as you are."

"Maybe." Link didn't look totally convinced, but neither did he look too doubtful. Neither of them had any better ideas.

"Well, let's look at it logically," Zelda said. "You said you were in an unfamiliar temple, and that the Triforce was there. Logically, that must've been the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm. If you heard the sages there, then he must be somehow sending them there to break their seal."

"I just wish I knew how," Link said, consternation clear on his face. "He has to get them into the Sacred Realm to get into the Sacred Realm. Whatever wall he's sliding them behind, why can't he just go through that? Why mess with the sages at all?"

"I don't know, Link," Zelda said gently, trying to calm him down. "We'll find out in time. For now, it's almost midday, we should eat."

They slowed their horses down to a slow walk, then to a full stop. While Epona and Thorin began to munch on the roughage, Link and Zelda unpacked some of the food Lord Taburd's kitchens sent with them. Mostly small slices of meat and hard cheese, with some last resort jerky hiding in the bottom that they both ignored until everything else was gone.

They didn't sit down to eat, just picked at their food by their packs, not saying anything. Just chew and swallow, take another bite. It wasn't that they had nothing to say, but Zelda felt as if they were being watched, as if the wrong word would bring Twinrova out of hiding and zap her away somewhere foreign and Link would be forced to do something drastic to stop Ganondorf from getting the Triforce.

She wasn't sure about Link, but she suspected his silence was at least in part due to his years of having no one to talk to in the first place.

Tatl seemed to feel the silent atmosphere and kept quiet herself, only chiming in pleasure as Link shared his food with her. Zelda motioned her over, a small piece of deer sausage in her hand for her. Tatl floated over, and settled over the food, eating it with that same chiming sound. The feeling was rather queer, a faint tickling motion on her palm. She wasn't terribly familiar with fairies, not the way Link was, so this was new and fascinating to her.

"Thank you," Tatl said, finally breaking the lack of verbal conversation.

"You're welcome," Zelda replied, repacking the rest of her food. "Link, are you ready?"

He popped one last piece of cheese into his mouth, then repacked his food and hopped up on Epona. "Ready." He patted Epona's neck. "Don't worry, girl, just a bit longer, then we can rest for the night. You'll have all the food you can eat."

Epona nickered in response, then started off at a slow gait. Thorin quickly caught up with Epona, leaving Tatl flying as fast as she could to catch up and hide in Link's hood so she wasn't left behind.

Zelda's robe and shirt quickly started to become uncomfortableas the air grew more and more humid. "We must be getting close," she said. "The air's growing wet."

Link shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea how to get there. A giant owl dropped me in the river and I kinda floated into Zora's Domain."

Zelda looked over at him, incredulous. "You don't even know how to get in?"

"I'm sure it's easy if I can just float in," Link said, completely unconcerned.

"Link, Ruto's hesitant to let Hylians in. My husband's been an idiot with handling her, she sends most ambassadors back with holes in them."

"Holes?"

"The Zora are warriors too, Link. And they wield mean spears."

"She's been having ambassadors killed?!" Link looked over at her, clearly horrified.

Zelda nodded grimly. "She has. We're lucky we still have water from the Zora River with her attitude."

"I'll handle her," Link said. "I still have their Spiritual Stone. And I'm better at fighting than any of them, I'd wager."

"Humility is not your strong suit," Zelda said.

Link laughed. "It's not a lack of humility. It's just knowing my own strengths. I've gone up against spears before. I don't have much trouble with them."

"And what about me?"

"You're Sheikah trained, aren't you?" Link asked, looking over at her. "You can disappear and not be seen."

"You don't know that trick, what makes you think I do? Besides, you put me in white, that stands out."

"She didn't teach you that? Damn. Well, I'll think of something."

Zelda sighed. "You know how to make war, but not approach allies?"

"I don't know how to approach old friends are who murdering innocent people," he said. "I can't believe Ruto is doing that. She was always a bit selfish, but never cruel. Makes me wonder if she's still the Sage of Water, or if her new hobbies have passed that title somewhere else. If that's the case, I honestly have no idea who the new sage would be."

"I wouldn't call the ambassadors innocent," she said. "They're Neshir's rodents, and they come in with very hostile attitudes. They've been aggressive and pick fights. They probably start the fights that kill them. I doubt Ruto's having them arbitrarily killed. I'd be entirely unsurprised if some of them were assassins pretending to be ambassadors. So don't put too much on her just yet. We don't know the story."

"I hope so."

The river came into view, and they walked the horses to a shallow point where they could cross to the other side, then headed up the long trek to the waterfall that marked where Zora's Domain was.

Both horses reared, nearly knocking their riders off, as a spear embedded itself into the cracks of the rocky cliff the river cut through. A Zora pulled himself up out of the water and reclaimed the spear. "No Hylians allowed past this point."

"Can an old friend of the queen's come in?" Link asked. "I'll wait here while you verify my identity with her. Tell her Link's back, and he still has the stone."

Another Zora climbed on land, spear in hand, and looked at his companion. "The name Link _is_ familiar," he said reluctantly.

The first Zora nodded. "Go, go tell the queen. I'll hold them here."

"Thank you," Link said. "From what I hear, I'm glad you're giving me this much benefit of a doubt."

The Zora looked up at him. "I recognize your name, nothing more. You could be an imposter. And we don't know your companion."

"She's a Sheikah warrior that the queen's handmaiden sent with me to help me. I'm on an errand."

Zelda glanced at Link from under her hood. Not a bad little lie, she'd stick with it until in Ruto's presence. Or maybe maintain it even then, if Link was able to sweet talk an alliance out of Ruto without her help. The two were old friends, she wouldn't be surprised if he could. She settled on keeping quiet until Link introduced her.

It was about fifteen minutes before the other Zora came back. At least, Zelda thought it was the same Zora. Many of them looked alike to her.

"This way," he said. "Leave the horses, they won't be able to get by up here."

They dismounted, and Link turned to the Zora that had remained behind. "Please protect them. They'll behave."

The Zora nodded wordlessly, glanced at the horses, then looked on past them, watching further downriver.

Link and Zelda followed the other Zora up the path next to the river, until a series of rocks opened up to a narrow path that opened up further into the domain's main cavern.

Link walked behind him as if he'd lived there, familiar with every footfall, while Zelda struggled a bit, trying to look far more comfortable on the wet rock. She was a Sheikah, after all, and that meant being nimble and adaptable to any environment.

They climbed a set of stairs to the throne room, where Zelda could see Ruto standing on the dais, arms crossed and eyes made of ice. Once at the top, Zelda took a half step behind Link, remaining hooded.

Link pulled back his own hood, and looked to start to speak, when Ruto interrupted him. "Seventeen years, Link," she said. "You're a horrible man to make Hyrule wait that long for you to come back and fix this mess. I suppose you've talked to the queen? Tell her husband's so-called ambassadors will _never_ succeed in assassinating me as long as they're so useless and bad liars."

Link scratched his neck, looking somewhat contrite. "I had to keep those stones away from Hyrule and Ganondorf, you knew that, Ruto," he protested. "But I know things are bad now, and he's in power, so I'm here to stop that. No more assassins, not after this. Zelda's declaring war on Neshir, and we need your help to win it."

Ruto was silent a moment. "We're turning that little toad into fish food?"

"With relish," Link said.

The icy stare turned to a warm smile. "Count me in. What about this person? A Sheikah?"

Link barely spared Zelda a glance. "Her name is Sheik. She's of the Sheikah clan, a friend I met through Impa. She's helping me on a few errands."

Ruto looked at Zelda, clearly considering her opinion of her. "If she is a friend of yours, she is welcome here," she finally said. Then she looked back to Link. "If Zelda's declaring war on Neshir, where is she in all this?"

"Back at Lord Taburd's barony," Link said, lying without missing a beat, which made Zelda relax a little. Link had never been that much of a liar, a little shaky at it, but his shenanigans in the Eastern world had obviously smoothed out that talent, and they'd need it now. "She's coordinating our army from there. We're amassing several counties and baronies, including, we hope, Lady Vorai's territory. The nobles are fairly easy to address, but you and the Gorons are, unfortunately, difficult. So I came myself to do it."

Ruto nodded. "As long as she's doing her part, I will do mine. What do you need me to do?"

"Your warriors need water to be useful," Link said. "And there won't be much water where we're going to be, but if you could remove Neshir's access to the waters of the river, that'd help us get around that moat the castle town has. We're attacking in two places, at the castle directly, and at the border of the desert."

"Neshir will have not one drop of water," Ruto promised. "And any that try to come take it back will face my warriors."

"One more thing, Ruto," Link said. "We've got other things going on with Ganondorf. He's trying to get into the Sacred Realm again."

"Again? But you have the stones, he can't get in."

"He's doing something to the sages of the realm to make them disappear, and it's weakening their seal. That means you."

Zelda wanted to laugh at Ruto's shocked expression, but she kept herself quiet and passive under her hood.

"Me?"

"You're the Sage of Water," Link answered with a nod. "And only you and the Sage of Time are left. Hide yourself and be on the lookout for two old Gerudo witches on broomsticks. That's Twinrova, and I'd bet a pretty rupee or two that they're the ones making the sages disappear. So be careful."

Ruto sat down on her dais, hip deep in water with her legs completely submerged over the edge. "I'm one of the sages?" She stared distantly, then frowned, getting back up. "Oh, goddesses, what am I doing, worrying about that? I'll be careful and do my part. You find the seventh sage and keep whoever it is safe. If I go, it'll be down to you to save us." She smiled, a smile that made Zelda want to go up there and slap her, it was so flirtatious. "So I know we'll be okay."

Link didn't seem to notice. "Thank you, Ruto," he said with one of his boyish, and probably oblivious, grins. "We'd better get moving, as much as I'd like to stay. We're on a clock and we've still got to get to Death Mountain."

Ruto made a shooing motion with her hand. "Go on, get to it, Link. We have a war to win and a Gerudo desert rat to crush."

Link laughed and waved, then turned and headed back down the steps, pulling up his hood again. Zelda followed him wordlessly, waiting impatiently for them to be alone so she could spit a few choice words out at him. Ruto had been blatantly flirting with him and he said not one word to discourage it!

Zelda didn't know who Link did love, if anyone, though she hoped it was her, but if he were at all intelligent, he'd keep Ruto from thinking her flirtations were working. Zelda highly doubted Link harbored anything but friendly feelings towards the fishwoman. He'd outright called her a spoiled brat at one point, that was hardly complimentary.

Besides, she was jealous, and a bit put out at being shoved into the shadows when it came to securing alliances for her own country, and if she were honest, she was feeling a bit catty.

Actually, what she was being, was silly.

By the time they reached the horses, her sharp tongue had dulled, and her heated words had cooled. They mounted, thanked the Zora guard, and headed off at a slow canter.

Once they were some distance away, she glanced over at him from behind her hood. His face was barely visible behind his own. "Link?"

She could see his head turn, even if his hood didn't move, giving her a half view of his face. "Yeah?"

"You _are_ aware the Ruto was flirting with you, correct?"

For a second, Link didn't answer, and what she could see of his expression looked confused. Then he laughed. "Oh, that. Yeah, I know. It's an old joke about the Zora Sapphire. It's supposed to be a sort of Zora engagement ring for the royal family, but her father also promised it to me, so it nullifiedits normal use. She still teased me about it. I don't pay it much mind. Why?"

"I felt it unfair to her if you let her do that without interest on your part. But if it's an old joke, never mind me."

"Relax, Zelda. I'm pretty sure anyone who talks to me long enough can figure out I'm smitten with someone else."

She didn't relax at all at that, though. He'd said things, things that should've made it obvious, but after so long, it was hard to believe he still harbored feelings for her, not after so many years. Even though she had for him.

Maybe she was just nervous.

As night fell, they were just nearing Kakariko Village, Impa's home town and a founded Sheikah village where Hylians had been made welcome. They slowed their horses as they walked in, looking around at the buildings that had windows shining with candle light.

"Impa's house is this way," Link said, leading her to a single house by the well. "She keeps a housekeeper here to keep it going while she's away. We'll be welcome."

"How will we be welcome?" Zelda asked as they dismounted to lead the horses the rest of the way. "You've been away too long and I'm in disguise."

"She'll welcome a Sheikah," he said. "And unless Impa's hired someone else, this housekeeper knows me."

They left the horses a few feet behind as they approached the door. Link knocked, and a minute later, a large-set woman answered the door. "Yes?"

Link pulled back his hood. "We need lodgings for the night, Mistress Ikol."

Ikol looked over him, frowning, then brightened. "Link! Oh, Link, my boy, you came home!" She looked at Zelda. "Sheikah are always welcome here. Both of you, come in, come in."

Link motioned back to Epona and Thorin. "I have to take care of the horses. Sheik, go ahead and go get settled in, I'll be there in a minute."

Ikol nodded. "The corral's the same place you left it. Is that Epona? Oh, she has grown into a beautiful horse. Glad to see she's still with you." She turned to Zelda. "Come in, come in, you said your name was Sheik?"

Zelda smiled. "I didn't. He did. But yes, my name is Sheik."

Ikol studied her. "You're an unusual looking Sheikah. Don't most of your people have red eyes?"

"I"m a half-breed," Zelda said, quickly trying to salvage this before Ikol figured out the truth. "My mother was Hylian."

That seemed to fool Ikol, at least for the moment, who led Zelda to the table. "I'll reheat the stew I made for dinner," she said. "You just get comfortable there, Mistress Sheik."

Zelda watched as the aging lady swung the pot that held the stew over the fireplace, which she'd kept roaring into the dying day. The house was warm, far warmer than it was outside. It was mid-fall, slowly creeping into the cold months, and the evenings were cool, even if the days were still warm, so the warmth was welcome.

Link came back in. "Thorin and Epona are blanketed and eating," he told them as he shut the door behind him. "Mistress Ikol, that smells delicious."

Ikol looked back at him with a grin. "Don't go trying to steal any until it's done like you did when you were younger, or I'll rap your knuckles."

He laughed, sitting down next to Zelda."I remember the wrath of your ladle, I won't risk it again." He looked at Zelda. "Word of warning for you, Sheik. She plays mean when you try to sneak food away."

"You don't need to sneak it when I give so much," Ikol interjected.

"I'll keep that in mind," Zelda said, as dry as a good merlot.

Ikol dished them both a good helping of stew, with some bread that was still warm. "I baked that bread a bit ago, make sure it's done for breakfast. But having some now won't hurt anything."

"Thanks," Link said.

Zelda looked over the food, deciding where to start. The stew smelled good, but the idea of warm bread with a little of the butter that Ikol had set on the table was appealing.

While she was still deciding, Ikol sat down and looked to Link. "So where have you been, boy?"

"Around," Link said around a bite of bread. He swallowed what seemed to be hastily, then smiled sheepishly. "I went East, past the forest. I was looking for my fairy companion, Navi." He reached back into his hood and poked around. "Wake up, Tatl, there's food."

Tatl sleepily rose up, weaving a bit, then moved to settle on the table. "You ride so fast," she complained.

"You survived," Link said, giving her a piece of bread.

Ikol studied the little fairy. "It seems you found a different fairy companion."

Link glanced up at her, then back to Tatl to feed her some more bread. "Yeah. Tatl was a huge help in Termina when I went there."

"You did all the hard work," Tatl said after eating her piece of bread.

"You helped," Link told her.

Zelda desperately wanted to ask what happened in Termina; she knew it had to do with evil masks and monsters from her earlier conversation with Tatl, but that was so vague.

But she'd wait for bedtime to ask, away from Ikol's prying ears.

"Mistress Sheik, you need to eat," Ikol scolded.

Zelda turned red, looking down at her untouched food. "My apologies," she said, then started eating. It _was_ quite good, and like Link and Tatl, she'd quickly eaten her fill.

"Good, good. You three look tired. Too many hours on the road. Lord Impa's room is the only one ready, and it has only one bed."

"I'll sleep on the floor," Link said. "I don't want to be separated from Sheik right now. There's something dangerous going on outside of Kakariko. I'd feel safer if we were in the same room."

Ikol nodded. "Very well. I'll get you a blanket and pillow. You'll have to explain what's going on tomorrow during breakfast. For now, you look ready to drop. Come, this way."

Ikol fussed at them a bit, fussed with the bedding, fussed with the room in general, gave them candles and a lighting stick in case they needed light again. After several minutes, she finally left, leaving the three of them alone.

Zelda sat down on the bed while Link sprawled on his blanket and pillow. Tatl fluttered around, her light casting strange shadows that jumped and sparked with the shadows created by the candles.

"Link?"

Link, who didn't look entirely sleepy, but definitely tired, looked up at her, folding his arms behind his head. "Yeah?"

"What happened in Termina? Tatl mentioned it, and you have, but I've not heard the whole story."

Link laughed. "Oh, that. What a mess."

Tatl made bell sounds. "Link got to be other races. He had too much fun with that. Do you still have any of those masks?"

Link shook his head. "I gave them to the races they belonged to."

"What about _that_ mask?"

Link went silent a moment, so long that Tatl began to buzz and ask her question again. "It's around."

"You kept it!"

"So what if I did? I might need it again someday. Besides, there was nobody I could trust it to."

Zelda sighed. "You two are being vague again. What's this all about?"

"Sorry," Link said, looking and sounding contrite. "In Termina, masks hold spirits, some of real people that died, some of just other races. Skull Kid got possessed by an evil mask and was going to crush Termina with the moon. I had three days to rescue four giant spirits from evil masks across Termina."

"What's this other mask Tatl was upset about?"

"The Ogre God mask," Tatl said. "Majora challenged Link to a game of tag on the moon, and gave him the ogre mask to chase him with. Majora tried to electrocute Link while he was wearing it, Link didn't even bat an eyelash. Didn't affect him."

Zelda perked. "Could this mask be used in the war, if you still have it?"

Link shook his head. "The ogre god is an evil god, same as Majora. I haven't used it since, and I'd be afraid to use it again, if I even could. It only seems to work in Termina. I just don't want it finding its way back there."

Zelda's ears drooped. "So much for that idea, I guess. It was a thought."

"Not a bad one with what you knew," Link assured her. "Don't worry, we'll win this."

Zelda didn't answer with words, but instead stood, legs almost shaking from nerves, and walked over to where Link lay and laid down beside him. She snuggled against his side before he had a chance to more than make a noise of confusion. "I'd rather be on the floor with you than alone in the bed right now," she whispered.

Link sighed, wrapping his closest arm around her shoulders. "You'll sleep better on the bed."

"Not without you." Zelda noticed that although her light remained, Tatl's voice was noticeably silent.

"We're cousins."

"And if your family hadn't died in the war, you would've been considered a good match for me. It's not a close relation. I don't care, I've waited seventeen years for you."

Finally, Tatl spoke up. "Told you, Link."

Link reached up and swatted at her with his free hand. "Don't make me make you sleep outside with the horses."

Tatl flew up out of reach. "Should I anyway?"

"No, Tatl," Zelda said. "I'm only interested in sleep tonight, I just don't want it to be alone." She closed her eyes in contentment as he tightened his grip on her. "I've missed the person I loved for almost two decades. That's hard on a heart."

Link turned his head and kissed her forehead. "It hasn't been easy on me either, you know," he said. "You sure you don't want the bed?"

"There isn't enough room up there for two and you're far more comfortable. We stay on the floor."

"Whatever you say, my queen," Link said, then started laughing when she elbowed him. "Wrong thing to call you?"

"My name is perfectly fine," she said. "At least when we're alone. I suppose it'd look bad if you suddenly started calling 'Sheik' by the queen's name. Might blow my cover."

"Don't worry, Zelda, I'll be careful."

She yawned, feeling herself drift off. "You'd better," she said, sleep slowly claiming her.

She heard him say "I love you" just seconds before she dropped off with a smile on her face.


	8. Chapter 7: The Mountain King

Link's arm and shoulder felt stiff when he woke up, and there was an unfamiliar weight against his side. He forced his eyes open past eye crust and stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what pitiful inn he was at this time.

Wait.

Hyrule. Right. He came home.

Speaking of home, there was a now-very comfortable weight against him. He looked over at Zelda with a small smile. "Hey," he said quietly, reaching across his chest to brush some hair back from her face. "Wake up."

Tatl chimed by his other side, waking up from sleeping on the pillow by his head. "It's morning?"

He looked over at her. "It is, if the smell of breakfast is any indication."

Tatl flew up, making a small yawning sound and stretching her wings. Zelda slowly roused, probably from their voices. She looked up, looking somewhat in pain. "Who busted my neck?" she demanded in a sleepy tone, yawning and sitting up.

Link took the opportunity to stretch, a full-body tension that relaxed into jelly. He smiled at Zelda. "Morning. Told you the floor would suck to sleep on."

She smiled down at him. "It was worth it."

He grinned, then pulled his boots back on before hopping to his feet. He paused long enough to grab the Goron's Ruby out of his pack, knowing he'd need it up on Death Mountain, and not wanting to backtrack once they were done eating. "Come on, Mistress Ikol makes great breakfasts."

"If her dinners are anything to go by, I'll likely agree," Zelda said, sitting on the bed to pull on her own boots.

"We'll meet you down there," Link said, then looked over at Tatl. "Race ya?"

The fairy took off without so much as a word, and Link took off after her, running down the stairs with heavy footsteps.

"Children!" Ikol cried as Tatl zoomed into the room, Link just behind her. "Come now, you're grown adults now, you have to run in the house? Shame, Master Link."

Link laughed. "Just some fun," he said. Zelda came down behind him, looking bewildered by his sudden sprint off. He looked at Tatl. "_You_ cheat."

She buzzed at him. "Do not. You've just slowed down in your old age."

Link gave her a dirty look as he sat down. "You didn't even say go."

Ikol shook her head. "You never grow up, child. Now here, eat."

Breakfast was simple, breads, butter, cheeses and a few meats. Link and Tatl devoured their food, leaving Zelda falling behind as she ate probably far more politely. Ikol looked between them. "Well, at least _someone_ around here has manners. Mistress Sheik, thank you, maybe you can teach some to Link and his fairy friend here."

Zelda smiled. "It's endearing. They're not making a mess."

"Hmph." Ikol eyed Link, who sheepishly slowed down a bit. "Never heard of eating so fast as endearing. Goodness sakes, you two, chew and taste your food!"

"I am!" Link protested around a mouthful of food. "It's good!"

"Maybe too good," Zelda suggested, tearing off a piece of bread without looking over at Link. Link could see the bratty smile on her face, though.

"You shush," he said, grabbing another slice of cheese.

"So where are you two off to today?" Ikol asked as she settled in with her own food.

"Up Death Mountain," Link said. "So we'll have to leave the horses here. We can make the trek by foot."

"Good luck with that," Ikol said. "The Gorons have blocked the way with boulders and they just throw bomb flowers down at people who try to get by them."

"I'm an old friend of Darunia," Link said. "I have proof of our friendship, I'll just sweet talk my way up. We really need to talk to Darunia and his son."

"So what's this afoot in Hyrule that you were so secretive about last night?"

"Zelda's declaring war on her husband," Link said. "She's with one of our allies right now, she sent Sheik and I out to secure a couple more alliances that she can't get with letters alone. We just got here from Zora's Domain."

Ikol paled. "We're at war again?"

"Kakariko will be left out of it," Link assured her. "We'll ask Darunia to leave some Gorons behind to guard it. Majority of the fighting's going to be at the castle. Rest of it will be out by the desert. Kakariko's nowhere near either one."

"Well, still,we should know to brace ourselves," Ikol said. "I'll start spreading the word after you leave. If nothing else, we can extend hospitality to the Gorons coming down the mountain."

Link nodded once. "You do that. It shouldn't take us long, we may stop for a midday meal before setting off for our stronghold that the queen's waiting for us at."

"I'll have food ready."

"Thank you, Mistress Ikol." He glanced at Zelda. "Done eating?"

"Enough until midday, yes," Zelda said. "We are leaving?"

"Now we are, yeah," Link said, standing. "Come on, Tatl. Stop scarfing the bread."

"I am a lady, I don't scarf," the little fairy protested as she settled on Link's shoulder.

"Uh-huh." Link tapped her wings lightly. "Come on, Sheik."

They left with a wave and a goodbye to Ikol, then headed out, leaving the horses in her care. As they got a decent distance from the house, on the way up through the stairs in the village to the mountain trail, Zelda looked over at Link. "Do you really think you can get them on our side? They'd be an enormous help, if you can."

"I know I can. I'm sworn brothers with Darunia. That means a lot in Goron society."

"How will we get by the boulders and the guards?"

"I'll just show them the ruby. If that doesn't convince them of my connection to Darunia, nothing will, and we'll have to go without them." He hoped it wouldn't come to that; the Gorons were good friends, and excellent fighters. Link was getting an idea that would make them completely invaluable, but their dignities might be offended by it, if he wasn't careful.

Zelda made a noise of acknowledgement, then fell silent for a few minutes. As they climbed higher, she started to become visibly overheated. "It's so hot up here. I thought higher elevations were cold."

"Normally," Link said. "But this is an active volcano. These robes probably aren't the best for this environment, but we won't be here long. Hang in there."

"I preferred Snowhead," Tatl complained. "Cold is a lot better than heat. I can get body heat to warm up in snow, but I don't have any way of cooling off in heat."

"I agree," Zelda said. "Though I think we've found the roadblock, so hopefully it won't be much longer here."

"Oi!" Link called up the trail. "I"m looking for the leader of the Gorons! I'm a sworn brother of the Goron race!"

Silence was his answer, for a moment, anyway, then a Goron head appeared over the roadblock. "No Hylian is a Goron brother," the guard said. "Away."

"I'm Link, Sworn Brother of Darunia. Please, we need Goron help."

"Link left decades ago, prove your identity."

"Knew that'd happen," Link muttered, then dug around in his pouch on his belt. He withdrew the ruby, holding it out for inspection. "It's the Goron Ruby, Darunia gave it to me before I left."

The Goron looked taken aback, then smiled. "Link! You've come home! Just a second, I'll get you through." He disappeared, and within seconds, there was an explosion that knocked some of the roadblock down. "Climb up!" he said from the other side.

Link walked forward and started climbing over the rubble that had made a groove in the top of the roadblock. He stopped to reach back and help Zelda get her footing. She slipped a couple times, but his grip on her remained firm. They finally reached the top, and looked down at the Goron that let them through. There was a smooth path up to the top where they stood, and the Goron was standing at the bottom, eagerly motioning them on.

"Come on!" he said. "Don't worry about the roadblock, we have other guards that will chase off anyone that gets close. I'll lead you to the city."

Link and Zelda hurried down the path and caught up with the guard. "I heard Darunia disappeared not long ago. Who's in charge now?" Link asked.

The Goron gave him a sad look as the two Hylians caught up to him. "Big Brother Darunia disappeared from the middle of council a week ago. Just like a ghost. His son is in charge right now, and his name is also Link. Big Brother Darunia was really fond of you."

"We'll find Darunia," Link promised. "But first, we need Goron help taking Hyrule back from Neshir and Ganondorf."

"Is that what you needed up for?" the Goron asked. "It sounds serious."

"It is. I'll need Link to call a council, I need Goron help, and I want to address the issue properly."

"I'm sure he'll oblige you. He's wanted to meet you since he was small. We'll all be glad you're home."

Link smiled. "It's good to be home. We'll make things calm again, then I'll enjoy it more."

The Goron chattered a bit on their way up, as things got hotter and hotter, rounding a corner on the trail and then down into the city. "This way, I'll introduce you to Link. This'll be hard, keeping you two straight when talking about you."

Link laughed. "We'll figure it out," he assured the Goron.

Goron City hadn't changed much in the last seventeen years, Link noticed, though many faces were new to him. The young had become adults and had new young. Those who had been adults to Link were aged now; he could only imagine what Darunia looked like now that he was so old, but he was sure his friend was in good health. Just. Missing. You know, fine, except that he's disappeared into thin air.

Sigh.

Their new Goron friend led them down the twists and turns of the city to the council chambers. "Link!" the Goron said as they entered the room.

The Goron Link was confronted with was at least as old as he was, and looked as grumpy as Darunia ever had during the food shortage. "What are you doing, bringing Hylians in?" he demanded. "Turn them away, you fool."

Link stepped forward. "I'm your father's Sworn Brother, Link. I know I've been gone awhile, long enough that we've never met, but it's urgent. I wouldn't interrupt your lives without reason."

His Goron counterpart eyed him critically. "Can you prove this?"

Link hated having to prove his identity, always did, but he grudgingly pulled out the ruby again. "He gave me this to protect seventeen years ago."

The Goron Link lit up. "You _are_ him! I've wanted to meet you so badly! Now that you're here, things will get better. Dad's disappeared, but I know you can find him."

Link put the ruby away. "I will, but not yet. We've got problems down in Hyrule."

"The Hylians have gone nuts," Goron Link agreed. "That's why we blocked up the path."

"It's the king's fault," Link said. "Zelda has nothing to do with it. In fact, can you call a council? Zelda and I both need your alliance."

"Is this the queen?" Goron Link asked, glancing at Zelda.

Link shook his head before Zelda could answer. She was remaining mercifully quiet, as much a shadow as a real Sheikah. "This is Sheik, a Sheikah and an old friend of Impa, Zelda's guardian. Zelda sent her with me to help get yours and the Zoras' alliances. We've already talked to them, they'll do their part."

Goron Link nodded. "I'll call council. Wait here. Take a seat on the carpet."

Link and Zelda found a spot out of the way and sat as Goron Link hurried out of the council room. Zelda leaned over to Link, lowering her voice. "It's going to be hard, knowing who we're talking about with you two having the same name."

"We'll manage," Link replied, equally quiet. "You okay with letting me talk?"

"You're the one that's friends with them. Sheik is a stranger to them, and Zelda a possible hostile until you've turned them to my side. This disguise is fine, I like not having to be the politician for once."

"For once?" Link looked at her. "You haven't had the chance to be one for years."

"That doesn't mean I never tried," she said. "I tried every day until you came home."

"Sounds exhausting."

"You have no idea."

They fell quiet as Gorons marched in, many giving them dirty looks, but nobody said anything, taking seats as Goron Link followed them in and took his place by the shrine. "Sworn Brother Link has returned, and brings with him a Sheikah woman by the name of Sheik."

The other Gorons looked over at Link with hope in their eyes. "Can he bring home Big Brother Darunia?" one asked.

"Let him speak, he has news for us," Goron Link said. Then he looked at Link and nodded. "Tell us what's happening."

"Darunia is one of the sages of the realm," Link explained. "Ganondorf, Neshir's advisor, is making the sages all disappear. Only two remain. I can't get to them until we've taken down Neshir and Ganondorf. I think they're in the Sacred Realm, but I can't open that until Ganondorf can't follow me in and claim the Triforce. He gets his hands on that, and Hyrule will burn and there won't be anything anyone can do to stop him."

"Then we have to take down Ganondorf," one Goron said. "No evil in the Sacred Realm."

Link shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't let that happen. I'll get the sages back. But first, we have a war to win. Queen Zelda's declared open war on Neshir and Ganondorf. We have several counties and baronies on our side, enough that we should be able to overpower Ganondorf and Neshir's forces in Hyrule Castle, but the war will be much shorter with more allies. That's why I'm here, to ask the Gorons to fight with us. The sufferings of treaties and other races have been Neshir's doing, not hers. She intends on fixing friendships, and I'm on her side."

There was talk among the Gorons, muted conversations between them as they considered his proposal.

"What do you think?" Goron Link asked the council. "I stand with Sworn Brother Link. If he stands with the queen, so do I. Where do the Gorons stand, though?"

"We stand with you," one said. "And with you, Sworn Brother Link, and the queen. Relations between Hyrule and the Gorons needs fixing, and if she plans on it, then we'll listen. Neshir's a rat anyway."

Link laughed. "That's what we've been calling him for awhile now," he said. "He and Ganondorf are both rats with soft heads to squish. And we'll win, no worries there. We just want it to be a resounding victory, not a barely squeaked by thing."

"We'll fight with you then," one Goron said. "We fight!"

"We fight!" the rest chimed in.

Goron Link nodded. "Where are we meeting, Sworn Brother?"

"At Baron Taburd's castle, near the forest. We're stopping for midday meal with Impa's housekeeper in Kakariko. She's said she'll have the village offer every hospitality you want to you while you pass through."

"We'll collect food for ourselves while you eat, then meet you at the foot of the mountain at one past the high sun," Goron Link said. "We'll follow you to Baron Taburd's castle from there."

Link nodded once. "Thank you, Brothers. We'll meet you in Kakariko."


	9. Chapter 8: Gatekeeper

"That little harlot!" Neshir practically screamed, pacing the war room of the castle.

Ganondorf listened boredly. Neshir was insufferable, a pompous little nobody that at least had the good intelligence to listen to Ganondorf. Mostly. The weasel had ruined a number of things with his clumsy political handlings. Ganondorf wanted a unified Hyrule to rule once he got his hands on that damnable Triforce, and Neshir had bollocksed that up terribly.

Something to change once he was able to get rid of his little puppet.

"She denies me for twelve years, and then she runs off with that nobody and declares war on me!"

Ganondorf bit back a sigh and the urge to smack the king. He was still worried about dipping his wick that he was barely noticing the 'declares war' part. Fortunately, Ganondorf was smarter and had his forces already moving into place.

Zelda had to get to the castle and through the walls, past his monsters and Gerudo warriors, to win. She had the border unprotected, as near as he could tell. Countess Vorai was firmly in Ganondorf's court, having too many trade agreements with his clan to be anything but loyal to him. She had too much at stake.

"My king," he finally said. "We should focus on our defenses before we worry about who the queen ran off with."

That was another thing. Neshir had reported that the male in question had called himself Ganondorf's worst nightmare. Ganondorf had utterly no idea who could possibly be called that. The only thorn in his side all these years was that the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time had disappeared seventeen years ago and he couldn't find them.

Perhaps this person was the reason behind that.

Well, worst nightmare, he had other ways into the Sacred Realm, he didn't need those paltry jewels and bloody instrument.

Neshir knocked a map off the table. "Damn her. She wants war, we'll give her war. She's hardly left her quarters in the last twelve years, what does she know about war?"

"Nothing, my king," Ganondorf said. But then, Neshir knew nothing of war, either. This country would be nowhere without Ganondorf.

"You have your forces in place, right?" Neshir asked, turning to him.

"They're ready and waiting, sire," Ganondorf confirmed.

Ugh. Calling anyone but himself that left a bad taste in his mouth. But not for much longer. Once they found the last two sages, the Triforce was his and he'd remove the blight on the throne and place himself there.

And Zelda would not deny him the way she had Neshir. She would bow, her and her companion and everyone else.

"Tell me when they arrive," Neshir said. "I want to see her face from the highest castle window when she loses." With that, Neshir stormed out, slamming the heavy door closed behind him.

"He's a child," Koume said, appearing next to Ganondorf.

"A useful child, for the moment," Ganondorf reminded her.

Kotake appeared on his other side. "We still haven't found the other two sages."

Ganondorf looked up at his two surrogate mothers. "You still haven't found them? The Sage of Water has to be a Zora, probably the queen. You couldn't figure that much out?"

"Quiet," Koume said. "We've been looking more for the Sage of Time. Whoever that is is going to be harder to find than the Zora queen. We'll leave her for now until we know where the other is."

Ganondorf sighed deeply. "Don't fail me, you two. The Triforce and my rule over Hyrule is lying on this."

"Have we ever failed you?" Koume asked. "Child, you insult us. We're watching the Zora queen, she'll be no trouble. But if we can't find the last sage before we send her to the Sacred Realm, we chance the Hero of Time showing up and beating you to the Triforce. We'll bide our time. The sage _will_ show up during this war, and we'll be waiting."

Ganondorf snorted. "The Hero. Whoever he is, he won't show up in time. By the time he draws the Master Sword, I'll already have the Triforce. I'm not worried about him."

"You should be," Kotake said. "He is chosen by the goddesses, you are not. You just have to be faster than he is."

"Or she," Koume said thoughtfully. "What a delightful idea, a woman wielding the Master Sword."

"What's so delightful about that?" Ganondorf snapped. "He or she, they'll not stand in my way."

The sisters exchanged a look, the same one Ganondorf had seen for a few decades now whenever they thought he said something stupid. He stood from his chair. "I have been working over a decade for this, Twinrova. I'm not about to let some chosen Hero stop me now. I'll slip into the Sacred Realm before he- or she -could possibly get the Door of Time open."

"It's possible this worst nightmare of yours _is_ the Hero," Koume pointed out. "Which means he's already here, and probably has the keys for the front door. He might even be hiding the Sage of Time. "

Ganondorf considered that. His mother made a point, that might explain this mysterious man's statement. "Maybe," he said. "But how would he know he's the Hero? Has he already been to the Sacred Realm? Has he pulled the sword? I can't think that the Hero's already been chosen. The Triforce hasn't been claimed yet. He's not supposed to be called until-"

"Until the sages and the Sacred Realm are in danger," Koume said. "We've been removing the sages, and be honest, Ganondorf. Are we anything other than ambitious to a fault? You're not exactly looking for the Triforce to make a pretty pretty paradise for everyone. You want to rule. You're ruthless. The Triforce was made by benevolent forces, I doubt it'd want you having it. The Hero may already be called."

"I'm still better than that bug we sat on the throne for our use," Ganondorf said. "At least I want unity in this stupid country."

"Stupid my foot," Kotake said. "You've been wanting Hyrule since you were a young child. You've never been happy with the desert. We spoiled you too much."

"Spoiled? Hardly, Kotake. I just know I want a better place for my people than a haunted wasteland. Is that so wrong?"

"Is that really why you're after the Triforce?" Koume asked, raising one eyebrow.

Ganondorf considered that. "It's a secondary thought. But it's nice enough the goddesses shouldn't try to stop me from claiming the Triforce to rule Hyrule."

She threw her hands up. "He thinks the goddesses play nice with mortals."

Kotake laughed. "We raised him that way," she said. "Just remember that."

"You won't let me forget," Koume said. "I keep trying to."

Ganondorf let his surrogate parents squabble while he thought. If this unnamed man was the Hero, and he was hiding the sage, he had a feeling where they found one, they'd find the other. The only way the Hero could be certain the sage was safe was if they stayed together. And the Hero would be too 'good' to not lead the charge if he was there. What kind of Hero would send an army in to die for him?

Even Ganondorf wouldn't. He planned on being right in the thick of things.

"Enough, you two," he finally said, coming out of his thoughts to hear them still arguing. "Four hundred years old and you two still fight like children."

"Watch your tongue, boy," Koume said. "I'm only three hundred and ninety."

"We're twins!" Kotake said. "You're not ten years younger than me! Face up to your age!"

Heaving another deep, heartfelt sigh, Ganondorf shot them both glares. "Don't start this one again. The poes tell me that Chitaur has allied with Zelda. They're coming in from somewhere East of here. We prepare to meet them when they get here, which could be any time from now until tomorrow morning. Hyrule is big, but not so big that it'd take them more than two days at maximum to march a small army halfway across. The only real worry is that Chitaur has heavy cavalry with her ranches. They'll probably be defending the rear, where the majority of our forces will come from. If we're not careful, we'll be run under. Fly back to the desert, assemble the women, get them moving."

The sisters looked at each other, then disappeared again, presumably to follow their orders. Sometimes it was hard to tell with them.

Ganondorf went back to brooding over this Hero that appeared out of nowhere. Neshir wasn't terribly descriptive when he mentioned the man in Zelda's rooms. The royal brat was more focused on Zelda than the man. It could've been any man, and he would've reacted the same. So his off-handed comment to Ganondorf about the nightmare wasn't terribly helpful.

He'd been around the castle for nineteen years now, and knew Zelda had no friends, except briefly, a Kokiri boy that had somehow managed to leave the forest to live in the palace for two years before disappearing again. This boy, if he were Kokiri, would still be a boy, but come to think of it, he didn't remember seeing a fairy with the child.

What was that kid's name? He'd heard Zelda say it enough times, but sometimes, Ganondorf wasn't sure if she was saying a name, or an object.

Link, that's right.

"Link, then?" He smiled to himself. "Well met, boy, well met. I'll see you shortly, and your sage."

Just a bit longer. Then nobody would stand between him and Hyrule's throne. Although he briefly humored the idea of letting Zelda remove Neshir for him.

Just to be nice, you see. Right before he made her kneel. And this Hero of hers.

Hyrule was almost his. After nineteen long years, it was in sight. Nobody was stopping him now.

Ganondorf walked over and picked up the map Neshir had thrown on the ground, looking over it. There were some nobles he hadn't gained the loyalty of. He wasn't surprised about Chitaur's realm. Neshir had laid down some selfish taxes on her ranches. He wasn't sure who else was loyal. And if Link was the one that had shown up, Ganondorf held no doubt that the boy had managed to get on the good sides of the Gorons and Zora. Not if he'd taken off with the front door keys to the Sacred Realm.

So, Chitaur, Gorons, who had a small population, and Zora, who were useless in battle on land. Who else, he wasn't sure. Couldn't be many, Zelda had hardly been seen or heard from since her marriage, and it appeared that she'd stood idly by while Neshir disrupted the peace treaties. There may be a barony or so still loyal to the old royal family, but beyond that, it was unlikely.

This war was already won.

He carefully rolled up the map and put it away, then walked out of the room, feeling confident that this farce he'd held up was almost at an end.


	10. Chapter 9: By The Sword

Eli Tabard, young baron of the Taburd estate, was rapidly running out of room in his not so big castle. They'd already built temporary barracks and palisades out front to house the armies marching in, and he'd set up barons and counts and a marquess up in his best rooms, reserving two for Link and Zelda. Although, after Osun's report that they both felt safer with sharing a room, he was wondering if he could give away one of those rooms.

Taburd castle had not seen so many noble visitors. Everyone had come in with their own armies, and Taburd was also starting to wonder if they'd be able to coordinate enough to get this war won. There was some small measure of squabbling over who was in charge, and Taburd had broken them up by reminding them that the queen was in charge.

Nobles could be such children sometimes.

"Lord Taburd."

Taburd turned, looking at Viscountess Chitaur. To Taburd's amazement, Zelda's earnest plea to her to side against Neshir had worked. "Yes, Lady Chitaur?"

"Where is Queen Zelda? It's been two days, and we're all starting to wonder where the war is going without our queen to lead it."

"She's with an emissary to the Zora and the Gorons right now, trying to get their help. She'll be back soon, I believe."

"Hmph." Chitaur was a crotchety old bat, always had been to Taburd's memory, but she'd joined in, quoting Zelda's promise to lift those extra taxes on the ranch. "You say that, but I don't see how those races can be trusted."

"They're old friends of the queen's family, and of the emissary she has with her," Taburd assured her. Grouchy broad.

"Who's this emissary? You've talked about him, but don't any of us know who he is."

"Do you remember Baron Garrand's family?" Taburd asked. "You should, Lord Garrand was the king's cousin, one of a few."

"I remember him. His family died off in the war."

"The baby lived," Taburd said. "Come with me, I have things to tell you that I've not told the others yet."

That seemed to cheer her up. She loved gossip, and she loved knowing things others didn't. The yet hopefully told her that she wouldn't be exclusive holder of this knowledge for long, but for now, it made her happy.

They walked out into Taburd's private garden, the only sacred place left in his home. He normally didn't bring anyone there, but he lacked safe places to talk to her. She sat down on a stone bench, staring at him expectantly.

Taburd sat down next to her. "The baby lived. My aunt, his mother, took him into the Kokiri Forest, where he was raised."

"Why would the Kokiri raise an outsider?" Chitaur demanded.

"Because Link is a very special person," Taburd said."The queen called him the Hero of Time."

Chitaur stared. "That's impossible, that's just a myth."

Taburd shook his head. "I don't think so, Lady Chitaur. The sages of the realm are disappearing and he knows who's doing it, roughly how, and who to protect to keep this person from succeeding. He knows more than a normal man who was raised in the forest and hasn't been in Hyrule for seventeen years should."

Lady Chitaur didn't answer right away, staring off thoughtfully. She was a cunning woman, a business woman more than a noble in many ways, thanks to the presence of ranches, particularly Lon Lon, on her properties. "Interesting. So the goddesses have decided to play on our side. I liked our odds already, now I'm very happy with them." She smiled over at him. "Thank you, Lord Taburd, that has put me at ease. How long until we tell the other? I'd like to know how long I have to enjoy being exclusive before everyone knows."

"I imagine it'll come up as soon as Link and the queen get back."

She frowned. "Damn. I suppose it won't be long then. Although I must admit, I'm getting tired of waiting."

"We all are, Lady Chitaur. But we have to trust Link and the queen."

"Trust is a rare commodity, Lord Taburd," she said. "It is one the queen wields over us, but if she's not careful, she may lose it."

"I'm sure she'll- what the devil?" He stood as what sounded like dozens of heavy stones rolling down the way interrupted him. He and Chitaur both took to their feet, leaving the garden without further word to each other.

Taburd all but ran as men started talking and staring and hurrying around him to see the ruckus. He got to the court of his castle just as the door opened, revealing Link and the queen in her Sheikah disguise, followed by roughly forty Gorons, who were the source of the noise.

All he could do was stare. He'd never seen a Goron in person, and they were intimidatingly large, and covered in rocks on their back that only made them look more frightening.

Link and Zelda, leading Epona and Thorin, walked over to Taburd. "We bring more allies, Lord Taburd," the queen said. "The Zora queen also says she will deny Neshir access to water."

Link grinned. "We've been busy the last couple days."

Taburd's voice strained as he stared at the Gorons. "So I see." He cleared his throat, trying to grab some pieces of dignity. "All our allies are welcome. I'm afraid we're at standing room only, but we'll find places."

One Goron stepped forward. "I am Link, son of Darunia, Big Brother of the Gorons," he said. "I'm in charge of our unit. I'd like to be in on the planning session."

"Of course, Link of the Gorons," Taburd said with a slight bow. "I am Baron Taburd, and you and your people are welcome in my home. I hope nobody minds sleeping under the stars though before we get moving."

"That's fine," the Goron leader said. "We like the outdoors."

"Who's all here?" Link asked.

"Everyone but Countess Vorai," Taburd said, waving to a few of his conscripted men and directing them to find places for their new allies. "But her county lies farther out from here, on the other side of the field, it may be that the letter has been received, but not had time to be responded to."

"Have you dispatched intelligence to see what the king's up to in all this? He can't be oblivious to all this."

"I doubt he is," Taburd agreed, glancing at his cousin. "But no, no one's been sent out."

Before Taburd could get his next words out, Lady Chitaur spoke up. "We had scouts sweep by on our way here, since it wasn't out of our way," she said. "We have the intelligence you need."

"Thank you," Link said. "Let's stable the horses, then get to work." He glanced at the queen. "Sheik, go get Zelda."

Curious. Taburd raised an eyebrow as the queen nodded, then headed inside, leaving Link with both horses. Link looked at Taburd, then shook his head, shooting a brief glance at the Goron leader. Understanding, Taburd nodded once, then waved over a stable hand. "Take care of the horses," he told him, then motioned to both his cousin Link and the Goron Link. "We'll let Sheik get the queen while we meet in the war room. I'll send servants for the others.

Lady Chitaur spoke up as she walked with Taburd and Link."We are finally ready?"

"For the moment," Link said. "We'll discuss this when everyone's together to avoid repeating ourselves too much."

Lady Chitaur raised one eyebrow imperiously high, and Taburd put a hand on her shoulder lightly to ward off any spitting words she might have for Link. Link was a baron with no lands or claim, and she was a viscountess, more powerful in both rank and land. Link's only real claim over her was his status as the Hero of Time, if the goddesses truly had decided to smile on them.

Taburd prayed they had.

Fortunately, Lady Chitaur chose not to pick a fight, and walked silently beside the two men and one Goron.

Once back inside the castle, Taburd called for servants to fetch the other nobles, summoning them to the war room. It took a few minutes for everyone to get there, including himself and those with him, but the room quickly filled up with their allies. Many gave strange or wary looks to the Goron, but nobody said anything.

The courtiers remained standing until the queen walked in, looking somewhat disheveled for a queen, hair hastily clipped back and an ill-fitting dress, but she held herself with respectability and dignity, walking around the table to where the two Links and Taburd stood. The courtiers bowed, and once she'd nodded in response, they took their seats.

"Good afternoon, my lords and ladies," Zelda said. "I am glad to see so many still loyal to my family."

"Many of us fought on your father's side in the first War of Unification," Lord Rampston said. "Neshir has never been my king."

Zelda smiled. "Thank you, Lord Rampston. Before we get started, I would like introductions. Many of you know each other already, and I remember many of you from my childhood, but our two new allies don't know any of you, I imagine. Lord Rampston, you've spoken up, why don't you start?"

Lord Rampston nodded. "I am Marquess Rampston. My lands are just north of here."

One by one, the others introduced each other, Lady Compton, Lord Spicer, Lady Pole, Lord Talnen and Lady Chitaur.

"Thank you for choosing my side, Lady Chitaur," the queen said. "We weren't sure you would."

"I don't have any respect for the king," she said. "And I knew with the forces you had loyal to you, you'd win. I like being on the winner's side."

The queen smiled, a very chilly looking smile. "Rest assured, Lady Chitaur, we _will_ win, and we'll make Neshir and his pet advisor pay for everything they've done."

"My queen, I do hate to interrupt a rousing session of different names we can concoctfor the king and his advisor," Lady Compton interrupted, "but who are our two friends beside you?"

The queen looked over at Link and the Goron. "This is my closest advisor and old friend, Link of the Kokiri and the Garrand family. Our Goron friend was named after him by his father, Darunia, so remembering their names should be easy. Keeping them separate, maybe not so much."

"Where is Darunia?" Lady Compton asked. "My lands include Kakariko, I'm very familiar with your people, Link of the Gorons."

The Goron sighed. "My father disappeared about a week ago. I've been in charge since."

"That's something we need to discuss," the other Link said. "Ganondorf is more than a slimy advisor. He's a powerful magician that's after the Triforce. That's always been his true goal. I've got the keys to the temple with me, I've kept them with me away from Hyrule for almost two decades now. But he's found another way in, and it involves the sages of the realm. Darunia was one."

There were murmurs among the courtiers. "Are you sure about this, Lord Garrand?" Lord Talnen asked. "That's a big allegation to make against Ganondorf, even if none of us like him."

"I'm very sure," Link said. "I've been in contact with all the sages, and it's the same story everywhere. He's after the Triforce and he's using them to do it. Only two are left, Queen Ruto and a Sheikah named Sheik. She came in with me, but she refrained from joining us for this. She knows her part."

More murmurs. "How do you know who the sages are?" Lord Talnen asked, still leading the interrogation.

"Because he's been chosen by the Master Sword once before," the queen said. "I can attest to this, he's the chosen Hero. The goddesses brought him back, they're on our side. Let him and Sheik deal with Ganondorf. Our concern, ladies and gentlemen, is the armies he and Neshir throw at us."

"I sent scouts out as I came here," Lady Chitaur said. "There's activity in the castle. There are monsters roaming the lands just around the drawbridge. We've never seen anything like them."

"I have," Link said. "They're just like any other warrior, just bigger. Go for their heads, they'll die just as easily as a human."

"There's not been monsters like that in Hyrule," Lady Pole said. "Where have you encountered such creatures?"

Link smiled wryly. "I've been away from Hyrule for seventeen years, Lady Pole. There's a lot out there in the world. And I've been flung around a bit, I've seen things that nobody here would believe except maybe my cousin and the queen."

Taburd felt a bit on the spot, but he kept his expression from showing it. "I probably would at this point, Cousin," he said. "But enough, we've got monsters, what else?"

"What kind of monsters?" Link asked. "Large skeleton warriors, I assume? I know he can conjure others, but he always seemed fond of them compared to his other choices."

"We only saw skeletons and a few things that looked like ghosts with lanterns," Lady Chitaur said.

"Poes," Link said. "We'll want archers on them, they die easily with arrows. They're probably nothing but patrol anyway, which means if your people could see them, they could see your people, and that means Ganondorf knows you're on our side. What else?"

"Gerudo soldiers," she said. "Not as many as I thought would be there, I'm sure they're relying heavily on the king's conscripted men for the castle. Unless there were more Gerudo in the castle."

"I doubt that," the queen said. "Neshir has problems with warriors being around him. He has self-esteem issues that go back to being a giant weenie and doesn't like being out-powered in his own home."

That got a laugh or two out of the gathered nobles.

"The majority of the Gerudo will probably try to hit us as heavy cavalry and infantry from the desert," Link said, breaking the brief mood of amusement. "I really was hoping we'd get Lady Vorai on our side, she has heavy cavalry and infantry as well, and we could've used them guarding that border. I don't like fighting a war on two sides, but we'll prepare for it."

"Have we even heard from Lady Vorai?" the queen asked.

Taburd shook his head. "No, Your Majesty," he said. "We're hoping, but the courier we sent out to her still hasn't returned."

Link frowned. "We may have to get by without her, and hope and pray she doesn't decided to side with the other side. If she does, we may be in trouble."

"What can we do if she sides against us?" Taburd asked.

Link went silent a moment before answering. "I'm not sure. We need to take the castle as quickly as possible and hold it. It's easier to defend the walls of a keep than to attack them. Especially with the mess we'll leave them. Queen Ruto is cutting off the water from Zora's River to the castle, so the moat will be a muddy mess. And the Gorons have brought bombs, we can hold the walls once we're over. Speaking of, Link?"

The Goron looked over at him. "Yes?"

"Would your peoples' dignities be offended if we shot them over the walls with the trebuchets as an opening volley? They can get to the soldiers right away and get the drawbridge lowered for the rest of us. That gets us in quickly with a hard hit to the enemy forces."

The Goron Link laughed. "That is what I was hoping for, Brother," he said. "That'll be a perfect move for us to do. We'll get your people in fast, then we can defend against the incoming Gerudo."

"Thank you," Link said. "I want light cavalry defending our rear until we're all inside. Archers just inside them, take out the poes, then get in and get on the walls to defend our position. The hard part will be the Stalfos and the Gerudos."

The queen spoke up. "I doubt Neshir will have much to throw at us but some soft royal guards and a handful of conscripted men. The king never kept many forces of his own, not even when it was my father with the crown. We always relied on our treaties."

"Bad idea," Link said. "Works to our advantage, though."

There was a knock at the door. "This had better be good," Taburd said. "Enter."

Osun opened the door. "Lord Taburd, we had more forces arrive. Countess Vorai is with them and demanding personal audience with the queen."

Taburd nodded once. "Bring her in, Master Osun. Quickly now."

Osun bowed, then shut the door. While more murmurs went up amongst the nobles, Link frowned, clearly worried about the situation. Taburd didn't blame him. Something smelled funny about it. Vorai was a big question mark, and demanding personal audience with the queen right from her arrival could either be good or very bad.

Taburd took a step closer to the queen, wondering not too idly if there was an assassination attempt in the works. On the queen's other side, Link straightened, very visibly preparing to attack, although he didn't make a move for his sword.

Countess Vorai was a distant cousin of Taburd's, and shared the family red hair, but hers was more auburn than ginger like his. Coupled with her tall frame and broad shoulders, she was intimidating. She was dressed in full armor, her helmet under her arm and a sword at her side, which didn't make her look any less imposing.

The queen straightened her back. "You wanted to see me, Lady Vorai?"

Vorai bowed deeply at the waist, her plate mail clattering a bit. Plate mail was always a noisy affair. "My queen." She straightened. "I am under the understanding that you need my help."

"I am," the queen said. "Can we ask it of you?"

"You can ask, will I give is the question."

Lady Pole turned red-faced. "If you don't want to give your help, why'd you come?" she demanded.

The queen held up her hand. "Silence," she said. "I'll hear you out, Lady Vorai. What are your terms?"

"I have a tentative peace with the Gerudo," Lady Vorai said. "I'd like reason to break that peace."

Taburd's cousin glanced at the queen. "Want me to field this one?" he asked her.

The queen shook her head. "I have it," she told Link. "Neshir needs to be off the throne, do we agree on this?"

Lady Vorai nodded. "I agree. He's attacked my county before, trying to get to my trade routes."

"Ganondorf is already backing Neshir," the queen said. "Getting rid of Neshir comes at the cost of getting rid of Ganondorf. The Gerudo will return to peace once their second in command, Nabooru, returns. She'll reestablish peace for you. She's a friend of mine, I'll make sure she does."

Lady Vorai looked contemplative. "I always did prefer working with Nabooru. She had a level head. Very well, then we remove Ganondorf and find Nabooru."

"Once Ganondorf's gone, Nabooru will come back," Link assured her. "There's a bit going on with behind the scenes that I'll be taking care of."

"Do tell," Lady Vorai said, quirking one eyebrow up.

Link sighed. "I wish you'd gotten her twenty minutes ago," Taburd heard him mutter. "Ganondorf's after the Triforce. He's tried before, he's trying again. My job's to stop him. You help us worry about that border and the castle, and I'll do my part to make sure Hyrule stays safe on the other front."

For the longest moment, Taburd wasn't sure Lady Vorai would answer that. Finally she smiled. "Then I know who you are. I remember you at the palace as a child. Very well, we fight. Where do we need my men?"

Link motioned her over. "I want light infantry and cavalry here, along the border on the Hyrulean side. I don't want them showing up at the castle to crash our party there. I want heavy cavalry along the back lines here." He swept his finger along the primary line of offense around the castle walls. "Lady Pole and Lady Chitaur will assist your men there, and Lord Taburd's archers will sit just inside that line, taking out the poes and the archers on the castle walls."

Lady Vorai eyed the map. "I think heavy cavalry and light infantry would do us better on the border. You have enough heavy cavalry at the castle, my men would just clutter things. Harassment tactics are perfect, we've done that with Neshir's forces before."

Link nodded. "That works. We're throwing the Gorons over the wall on the trebuchet, so I don't expect it'll take us long to get through the drawbridge, and kick them out to switch to defense. Queen Ruto's drying up the water access, so the moat will be a muddy mess for their offenses to try to get back in. I want heavy infantry waiting outside the drawbridge after we fight the enemy back out to keep them distracted."

"Where will you be?" Lady Vorai asked.

Link looked grim. "I'll be on the front lines with our single Sheikah ally. She and I will try to protect the temple from Ganondorf and keep an eye on everything else. It's gong to be chaos, Lady Vorai. Can your forces keep us safe while we keep the rest of Hyrule safe?"

"I'll give you my best men to protect you and our Sheikah ally," Lady Vorai promised. "I have my five top warriors I'll assign to protecting you personally." She looked over at the queen. "And you, my queen. Where will you be?"

The queen smiled. "I'll be around. But I'll be safe, that's all anyone needs to worry about."

"Are you certain? I could assign some men to you as well."

"That won't be necessary, thank you, Lady Vorai. I'll be safe."

Vorai bowed. "As Your Majesty wishes."

"Where would you have us?" Lady Compton asked.

Taburd spoke up then. "We'll have important people right on the front lines, Lady Compton," he said. "I don't think we, as nobles of Hyrule, have any right to be anywhere but right beside them. Some of you are maybe too old to fight anymore, but you can hold the back lines until we can get everyone inside the wall, at which point, there will be safe places you can go to."

"I will lead my men on the border personally," Lady Vorai said. "As Lord Taburd said, we have no right to put our men on the line without being willing to get our hands dirty."

"I agree," Lady Chitaur said. "We'll coordinate the back lines and our men there. We're counting on the Gorons fairly heavily to get us in, if I understand right. There will be plenty of protection for us older folk in the back."

"We are all in agreement, then?" the queen said. Once the other nobles had voiced their assent, she nodded. "Good. We march first light tomorrow. Get some sleep, tell your men to sleep as much as possible."

Link looked at the Goron Link. "I take it you'll be sleeping outside with the other Gorons?"

The Goron nodded. "That's right. We'll take up the front and a few of us at the rear to guard our march."

"Thank you, Brother," Link said. "All right, everyone, you heard Zelda, let's go get dinner and sleep."

"Griselda will have dinner ready in an hour, so you have time to rest," Taburd told his guests.

The crowd dispersed, the older nobles returning to their quarters. The Goron left to be with his people, presumably. Taburd doubted they'd see him at dinner, Gorons were rock eaters, to his knowledge. That left himself, Link, the queen, and curiously, Lady Vorai.

"I will take the men I need with me now," she said. "At your leave, my queen."

The queen smiled, nodding her head once. "What you think best, Lady Vorai. Thank you for your help."

Lady Vorai bowed, the plate mail clattering a bit. "For my queen," she said, then turned and left the room.

The queen all but collapsed into the chair Taburd normally occupied. "This war is going to kill me from stress alone. I'm just glad everyone behaved."

Link propped himself against the table. "You did fine, Zelda," he said. "But the rest thing applies to you, too. We're going to be out there just in time for dark to fall. It's going to be chaos. Maybe they'll let us all rest for morning, I've seen it happen, but it's Neshir and Ganondorf we're talking about. We're probably going to want to stop halfway there and rest before finishing the trek. Battles at night can be hellacious, more than during the day. At least in the daylight, you can see who you're sticking your sword into."

The queen closed her eyes, looking older and wearier than Taburd remembered seeing her. "I wish my father had never gotten ill."

"We all do, Your Majesty," Taburd said. "He was a good man with a bad advisor."

"I have a thought about that illness," Link said. "I'm kinda loathe to say it, but I suspect poison. Ganondorf being Neshir's advisor is too convenient."

While Taburd just felt caught off-guard by the accusation, the queen's face turned hard and cold as she lifted it to look at their companion. "What?"

"There's a flower in the desert that causes a sort of insanity," he said. "Sheik warned me about it so I didn't let Epona eat it while we were out there."

"I want them both on my knife," the queen snarled.

"Down, Zelda," Link said. "Ganondorf is my responsibility. You outed me as the Hero, it's my job to live up to that. You can do whatever you want to Neshir, just be careful to not alienate anyone with brutality. You're better off banishing him than killing him personally."

"I'll consider it."

"Not to interrupt," Taburd said. "But I noticed something you said. Sheik, isn't that just the queen in disguise?"

Link shifted against the table, facing both the queen and Taburd equally. "Sorta. There was another world where Ganondorf got part of the Triforce. I lived there, briefly. That's why I know about the monsters and the probable method Ganondorf's using to get rid of the sages. We defeated Ganondorf, but Zelda sent me back to stop it from ever happening. In that world, Impa had changed Zelda into a true Sheikah and sealed her memory until I could show up to help stop the problem. I decided to recycle the name for her this time. And the fact that she is Sheik is _not_ to be a known thing. The only ones who know are you, me, Zelda and Tatl."

"Who's Tatl?"

"I am," a tiny fairy said, emerging from Link's hood. "I'm an old friend of Link's. I'll be helping him watch his and Zelda's back."

Taburd didn't like the idea of his queen on the front lines, disguise or no disguise. "Are you sure the disguise is enough to keep her safe in the battle?"

"I'm not worried about her safety from blades," Link said. "She was taught by Impa, same as me. We'll be fine. What I'm worried about is her being recognized by Ganondorf or Twinrova. If she is, we may have problems."

"Now, Twinrova, who are they?" Taburd felt a bit lost, even after learning so much. There was clearly quite a bit more to the story that he was missing.

"Koume and Kotake, two old Gerudo witches that raised Ganondorf. Most Gerudo are just warriors, and for the most part, honorable enough. But Twinrova have always been corrupt, to my knowledge." Link sighed. "I think they're the ones responsible for the sages disappearing, and the more I think about it, I have to agree with theory that they're somehow sending the sages to the Sacred Realm and weakening the seal on it. If the river starts flowing again, I can guarantee Ruto's been taken. And that just leaves Zelda. If she's recognized and taken, that drives it down to the wire. I'd have to get to the Sacred Realm and stop Ganondorf from getting the Triforce. And I don't really want to have to go in there. I may miss the Master Sword, best blade I've ever held, but I don't care to have it again if I can help it. It's only supposed to be awakened when bad things happen. We don't want bad things to happen."

"No, we don't," Taburd agreed. Then he sighed. "I'd better go see to the kitchens," he said. "Griselda has a heart attack every time I host nobles, having the queen around will most assuredly kill her."

"I won't be around," the queen said. "Sheik and Link will take their meals in their room. The queen is resting in her quarters, which will be conveniently not located anywhere in the castle. Thank you, Lord Taburd, but I think we really would prefer to avoid social interaction tonight. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We'll take our meals in our room."

"Just one?"

"Just one."

Taburd bowed, then left to see to the arrangements. He wasn't sure he'd be much good in the battle, but he could take care of his queen and cousin before then.


	11. Chapter 10: All For One

"May I speak to you, Lady Vorai?"

Serene Vorai turned, looking at a disheveled Queen Zelda. She'd been on her way to the stables to saddle her horse and head for her county to set up her forces for the border. She thought the queen would be at dinner with the other nobles, but apparently, she thought wrong.

"Yes, my queen?"

The queen looked weary, but she held herself with the same regal standing that Vorai remembered from her childhood when her father would take her to visit the castle. "I have a task for you, if you think you can do it."

"I can do anything for my queen."

"When this is over, I want an army to protect us from outsiders. Link has come from the outside and the world is aflame. We cannot ignore it any longer. Will you be my top general and head of the royal army when this is done?"

Vorai stared at her for a long fifteen seconds. Head of the army. Zelda's top general. A position close to the royal family, important, not just a 'military powerhouse' that happened to sit on a border.

She almost squealed in giddiness.

As it was, she smiled, turned fully to face her queen, and bowed. "As Your Majesty wishes. I will serve with all my ability. But for now, I'm afraid I must leave your fair company. I must return to my county to set up our defenses before the Gerudo cavalry crosses the border."

The queen smiled. "Thank you, Lady Vorai. I'll leave you to your work."

Vorai bowed again, then hurried to the stables. "Saddle my horse," she ordered a servant. The servant gave her a non-verbal acknowledgement, which would've gotten him in trouble at her own county, but she let Taburd's people behave as he saw fit, then hurried to her horse.

Within minutes, her horse was ready to go. She mounted, then took off at a dead sprint towards Lon Lon Ranch, the biggest and most central ranch in the field. It'd make a good place to rest and get another horse. She hadn't brought her favorite; Ella was still stalled at her home. Ella was her battle horse, the others were just to get her around Hyrule.

It was a few hours before dawn when she arrived at Lon Lon Ranch. Hired hands, headed by someone named Ingo, took her exhausted horse and led her to one of the surrounding houses to rest for a few hours. She felt guilty taking the rest; she had two days to protect the border and she refused to be tardy to such an important would not fail her queen. Nor would she fail the Hero; if she did, Ganondorf got the Triforce and the land would fall to ruin.

She'd not let Hyrule fall. It was her home, beautiful and great, as beautiful as the queen, and she'd protect them both.

She got ill rest for four hours before dawn hit, then was saddled another horse, and took off at a hard gallop for Vorai Castle.

It took almost all day, with a couple rests for the horse's sake, to get to Vorai Castle. She mentally counted the time; the queen's forces marched that morning at dawn, and would reach Hyrule Castle at sunset, approximately. Unless the Gerudo had already marched through the border, that left her three hours to prepare her men for a night battle.

If the Gerudo had already marched, she'd chase them down and slaughter them all herself before they could get to the queen.

Her captain met her at the Gate. "Lady Vorai, we didn't expect you back so soon," he said.

"Always expect anything, Captain," she told him, dismounting. "Have the stable boys take care of that horse, he's been run hard today. Assemble the men, we have a battle to go to."

"A battle, my lady?" the captain asked, even as he dispatched people to wake up a castle that had been preparing to settled down for the night.

"The queen wages war on the king," she said. "I have decided we will fight with her."

"To the castle, then?"

Vorai looked at him. "No, Captain Hawkeye, we fight the Gerudo at the border. We don't let their cavalry break free to the fight at the castle. We protect the rear."

Hawkeye blinked a couple times in slow surprise. "But Lady Vorai, we have peace with the Gerudo."

"Verbal contracts to not kill each other over trade in the border towns," Vorai corrected him. "And once Nabooru returns, we can arrange peace again, but Ganondorf fights against the queen with the king, we will fight against his Gerudo with the queen. Now, get to work."

"Yes, my lady," Hawkeye said, then hurried off to finish gathering the men.

Vorai watched as her personal army came alive, standing in sharp formation, ready for inspection, orders and dispatchment. The cavalry was mounted and waiting. She called for Ella, who was brought to her, full armor and saddle ready.

She mounted and faced her men. "We fight for the queen! We defend the border between Hyrule at the desert with our lives. Cavalry, we go first, break their lines. Infantry, you'll go with Captain Hawkeye upon my orders as we near the site of battle. Cavalry will swing back around to attack from the rear. Don't let any go towards Hyrule Castle. Is that understood? Not a single one past our lines!"

Her men yelled their understanding, then fell into formation behind her as she turned Ella towards the gate and marched out of the castle to the border. They had two hours left to get there. It was a one hour march on foot, and they couldn't ride ahead of their infantry.

That gave them one hour to prepare, assuming the Gerudo were working on their time table.

She motioned her captain to her side. His horse sped up, then slowed back down to match her pace. "Captain, I want you to take the infantry and head towards Hyrule Castle. See if they've gotten ahead of us. Our allies have plenty of heavy cavalry in their rear, but the Gerudo might overpower them if they're caught off-guard. I want you to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Yes, my lady," Hawkeye said. "Infantry, with me!" he called back to the men, then veered off, the men on foot following him faithfully. Orders from Hawkeye were orders from Vorai.

Satisfied that they'd protected the queen on that front, she turned her cavalry towards the border.

Night fell. Her cavalry set themselves in tight formation along the narrow border. The border was mostly blocked in by rock carved by the Zora's River that fed into Lake Hylia. That would make it easy to bottleneck in the Gerudo, assuming they didn't sneak around the edges where her men couldn't cover. It was impossible for them to block the entire border, but if they could keep the center, they ought to be able to block them effectively.

The horses snorted nervously and men shifted in their saddles with impatience.

An hour passed.

On the starry horizon, as the moon grew big, a sand cloud was seen, followed quickly by the thundering sounds of horses on sand. Sand gave way to rock and women's voices joined in.

"Ready, men!" Vorai shouted. Swords were drawn.

As the Gerudo drew closer, something struck the back of Vorai's neck, sending her reeling off her horse. Gerudo cavalry trampled into the breaking line of defense of her own cavalry. She stood on shaky feet, watching as several of her men moved aside for the Gerudo line while others fought it, until her own men were fighting each other with the Gerudo forces creating more confusion.

"Ella!" she called, looking through dizzy eyes for her own horse to get back up and try to fix this, stop the Gerudo, keep them from reaching her queen.

Around her, steel clashed with steel. Before Ella could get to her, a Gerudo galloped past her, lowering her scimitar to attack Vorai. Still rattled from the blow to her neck, all Vorai could do was fall backwards, out of the scimitar's range. She immediately had to catch herself as more horses galloped around her, rearing and threatening those on the ground with their hooves.

Between her own weaving and Ella's, horse and rider were reunited. She climbed back on, letting Ella hold their balance. She couldn't understand what had gone wrong, why some of her men had turned on her, but she'd make sure they'd pay as soon as this battle was done.

And she _would_ win.

She decided to focus on the Gerudo for now; she couldn't tell which of her men were on her side and which weren't.

With a cry, she began to attack Gerudo, her heavy sword reaching under their shorter, lighter scimitars and piercing midsections. One Gerudo managed to dodge her sword and swing in for a blow of her own. Vorai brought up her sword to block the blow aimed at her throat, then kicked out her foot, boot firmly smacking the Gerudo in the chest and sending her off her horse and to the ground where she was immediately trampled.

With the traitors in her midst, most of the Gerudo got by them, heading off for Hyrule Castle. "Damn," Vorai swore. It was too noisy to give orders to her men, and the traitors were making things too confusing.

As the Gerudo ran past her lines, she saw a handful of her men accompanying them, leaving her with a large number of now confused and scared men.

"Are you loyal to me?" she demanded of them in a loud voice. They gave a wordless cry of affirmation. "Then you are loyal to Hyrule! We'll take care of the traitors later, for now, we must stop the Gerudo from joining the battle. Formation, men!"

Like a well-polished weapon, her cavalry returned to their proper places behind her.

She held up her sword. "For our queen!" she cried, then urged Ella into a gallop, her men following close behind.


	12. Chapter 11: Greatest Quality

The march to the walls of Hyrule Castle was slow as the trebuchets were pushed by the strong Gorons and pulled by some of Lady Chitaur's strongest draft horses. The elder nobles rode along Chitaur's cavalry near the back. Link and Zelda led the front lines, infantry marching behind them.

Link was mostly certain they'd win; they had most of the forces in Hyrule. Gerudo cavalry might prove a problem if Vorai couldn't stop them, but the battle at the castle would be, for all intents and purposes, fairly easy.

What worried him was Twinrova.

He hoped Zelda's disguise and his proximity to her would protect her, but he just couldn't be sure of that. Something in his gut told him things were going to get ugly with Ganondorf. He only hoped that meant they'd face off on the battlefield, not that they'd be racing through the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm, trying to stop the other.

Night fell. Hyrule Castle loomed. Along the top wall were Gerudo archers, peppered with the king's personal army, which amounted to very little. Poes haunted just outside the closed drawbridge. The Stalfos were probably just inside the walls, ready to attack anyone who got through.

The trebuchets were pulled into place. Archers took up position around them, with cavalry hiding behind them. The area around the castle walls was a muddy mess where the river had been blocked by Ruto. Torches burned to light the area.

Link heard a command in Ganondorf's familiar voice and the archers on the wall raised their bows. "Archers, ready!" Link called to his own people. The familiar sound of tension in a bow string pulled echoed in the night. "Gorons, places!" Many of the Gorons climbed into the bowl of the trebuchets.

Arrows sang through the night, peppered by screams as some hit the infantry below. "Archers, return fire!" Taburd ordered from the back.

"Gorons, fire!" Link's same-named Goron brother yelled.

It all happened at once. Arrows returned fire on the wall and several women fell off, some forward into the muddy moat, others back into the midst of their army. The Gorons launched over the walls, explosions sounding from inside as they dropped bombs on their way over. More arrows came raining down from the castle, fewer than before, with poorer aim. The explosions had caused a lot of noise and confusion on the other side.

Link tensed as the drawbridge started to lower. He grabbed Zelda's arm with his right hand. "Stay close," he told her, probably for the fiftieth time since they left Taburd's castle.

She glanced up at him. "Don't worry," she said. "Sheik knows how to use her blade. And we have Vorai's people with us." She looked at the five men and women in black clothing gathered at their back and sides.

Link shot a brief look to the five, then let go of Zelda's arm. "Just stick close to me anyway."

He readied his sword as the drawbridge thudded on the ground. Stalfos and Gerudo women swarmed out, half attacking, half being run out by the Gorons that had gotten over the wall.

Voices yelled. Link and Zelda charged forward, followed closely by their bodyguards. Link's sword met with hard bone as he attacked a Stalfos. Zelda leapt up beside him, digging her Sheikah dagger into its skull. The Stalfos busted apart, leaving bones behind as its spirit left and dissipated.

A Poe screamed towards them. Before Tatl could do more than call out a warning and either Link or Zelda could duck or do anything to get away, an arrow pierced it, shattering its lantern. Link looked over to see Taburd drawing another arrow. "Get going!" he shouted. "We have these guys."

"Thanks, Cousin!" Link shouted back, then ran towards the drawbridge with Zelda. Somewhere in there was Ganondorf, and they had to take him down before Twinrova did anything drastic.

Like zap away Ruto. Link swore as the water came gushing down the gully, splashing up against the drawbridge and soaking him and Zelda both. "They got Ruto," Link said over the noise. "Keep your head down until we find Ganondorf. Don't worry about Neshir, he's probably in the castle. We'll take care of him later."

"Got it," Zelda said, slashing her knife across a Gerudo's throat as she passed. The Gerudo went down, her spear hitting the ground noisily beside her. Link blocked a hit from a soldier with his shield, then stabbed his sword out from behind it, the blade sliding cleanly into the soldier's abdomen under the chest plate he wore. The soldier gurgled, falling off Link's sword.

This never got easier.

They charged into the city, barely pausing in their way to attack oncoming enemies as they shoved their way through the crowd, looking for Ganondorf. Tatl took a high route above them, helping them scan for the Gerudo King. She wouldn't be much help, not without having seen Ganondorf before, but she was able to watch their backs that way.

Link slammed his heavy shield into the face of a Gerudo that swung her spear in front of him. She wobbled back, dropping the spear and falling to the ground. She wasn't dead, but Link wasn't interested in sticking around to make sure she was. Her ears were probably ringing like hell, though.

"Look out!" Tatl yelled, just as Zelda made a distressed noise next to him, her dagger flashing as she caught a sword against its blade, the soldier holding it pressing it down harder against hers. Before Link could get around Zelda to help her, a throwing knife embedded itself into the soldier's throat.

Link looked over to see one of their bodyguards, wielding another knife, flinging it just barely past Link's head to another Gerudo behind him. "Thanks!" he called, then put a hand on Zelda's shoulder.

"I'm fine," she said. "He just caught me off-guard, I was looking for that desert rat."

"It's hard to keep track in a war," Link said, turning on one foot to slice his blade through another Stalfos. An arrow pierced its head, another assist from their bodyguards. Link wasn't used to that.

"Keep going," he told Zelda, turning to head deeper into the fight. He still hadn't seen Ganondorf, and Twinrova was skulking around somewhere, and Zelda was all that was left, which made him very nervous.

Zelda kept up with him, but barely. She was well-practiced with Impa, but she hadn't had the training that Link had, she didn't have the stamina to keep up with a war. That also worried him.

"This way!" Link said, leading her to the nearest ladder up the wall. They could take a second to survey the area from there. He motioned her up, following her up the ladder. Zelda slammed the butt of her dagger against a Gerudo archer, then shoved her over the wall into the water below.

"Mind if I join you?" Taburd said, nearly spooking Link. Taburd pulled himself up onto the wall behind Link, and the bodyguards, looking out over the fight. "It looks like we're winning," he noted.

Gorons were flinging Stalfos, Gerudo and soldiers into walls and water as they stormed the drawbridge. Any soldiers that got by them fell on infantry hands. The cavalry in back had hardly done a thing but hold the line so far.

"I don't see Ganondorf," Zelda said.

Link looked around. "I don't either. I doubt he's in the castle with Neshir, he'd want to be in position to get into the Sacred Realm as soon as his mothers zap you, assuming they find you."

"What's that?" Taburd interrupted, pointing off in the distance.

Link peered into the darkness. "Armored infantry. Bet it's from Vorai."

"I'm not talking about them, Cousin, I'm talking about that cloud behind them."

Link braced his hands on the edge of the wall and leaned forward, staring hard into the night gloom. "Gerudo cavalry. They must've gotten past Vorai. Damn. Good thing she sent us her infantry. I hope the other nobles and the cavalry see them coming in time to stop them. They get into our party here and it's over."

Taburd nocked an arrow. "Don't worry about them, we'll hold the walls," he said.

Link felt a bit reassured by that, then went back to scanning the crowd for Ganondorf. "I don't see him," he said, feel frustrated.

"Found you!" a cackling old voice shouted and Link froze, grabbing Zelda's arm protectively. A tiny old woman on a broom appeared, quickly accompanied by her sister.

An arrow flew at the closest sister, who set it ablaze. Taburd drew another arrow. "Go! Vorai's people, stay with me, hold these two here!"

Link didn't need to be told twice, nor did Zelda. They took off down the wall, leaving Taburd and the bodyguards behind, heading towards the tall buildings pressed up against it. Zelda slipped a bit as they hopped down onto a roof. "That's Twinrova?" she somewhat shrilly demanded.

"Koume and Kotake," Link confirmed. "Can't tell them apart, but one uses fire and the other uses ice to attack. Come on, this way." He led her down to some lower roofs, hopping down, then turning to help her down.

She grabbed his shoulders as he grabbed her waist, pulling her down next to him. "Now what do we do? We can't keep running like this, they know who I am."

"I'll figure something out. For now, let's just get where we can regroup." He climbed down a cluster of old crates between houses. She followed, clearly growing tired. He wanted somewhere she could rest for a few minutes before he took the witches on.

The sounds of war grew distant as they got deeper into the city. He held her hand, trying to keep her going while he looked for a good hiding place, somewhere where they wouldn't involve innocent citizens who were probably terrorized enough.

The weight of Zelda being half-dragged behind him disappeared and he lurched, half turned as he fell from the inertia, landing on his ass. Zelda was gone, but overhead cackled two old Gerudo witches. His heart fell into his stomach and he felt the blood leave his face.

Twinrova laughed, then disappeared.

"Damnit," he swore to himself, sheathing his sword, then got up and ran towards the Temple of Time. He patted down his pack on his waist, making certain he still had the three stones and the ocarina he'd brought just in case this happened. They were still there, thankfully.

"Link, wait up!" Tatl called after him.

"No time!" he replied, yelling back over his shoulder. "Go help Taburd!"

He sprinted up the steps to the temple, the sounds of battle down to a dull roar behind him. He didn't slow down to reach the altar, slamming into it soundly and knocking his breath out. He fumbled with the stones, barely taking time to put them into their slots right.

Pulling out the Ocarina of Time, Link forced himself to stop and breathe a moment. He'd never be able to play the song if he couldn't settle down. Taking a deep breath, he started to play. The doors behind the altar slid open and he grabbed the back of the altar, pulling himself up and over it. He shoved the ocarina away, heading down the hall to where the Master Sword sat waiting.

"Please let me be in time," he said to himself as he grabbed the hilt and yanked. The seals of the sages around him lit up, creating a path that pulled him into an unfamiliar temple before he could consider where he might end up. It wasn't the Chamber of Sages.

But it was probably the Temple of Light, all the same.

He could hear the sages' voices, just like in his dream. They were begging for his help. "Where is he?" he asked them.

"This way," their collective voices said, leading him through a maze of hallways. He felt lost, but he took comfort in the fact that Ganondorf was probably equally lost, and at least Link had the sages to guide him. He poured on speed as the voices of the sages got frantic. "The Triforce, he's close!"

Link rounded a corner, running headlong into Ganondorf's back. They both went sprawling. Ganondorf growled, pushing Link away. "You're too late, Hero!" he said, getting to his feet.

Link stood, drawing the Master Sword, even while glancing around. Far down the hall it opened into a room with a golden glow, that Link had a sinking feeling was the Triforce.

So close.

He had to stop Ganondorf here and now, or Hyrule would burn.

Ganondorf started to run towards the glow. Link was faster, zipping in front of him and blocking him with the Master Sword. "You want the Triforce?" he said. "You're going to have to get past me."

"Gladly," Ganondorf said, drawing his sword.

Ganondorf pressed the first attack, swinging his sword in from overhead. Link brought up the Master Sword, catching Ganondorf's blade with his own, then pushed back against the force, sending Ganondorf flailing backwards. Link spun, using the momentum from his counter attack to swing his sword at Ganondorf's midsection.

The Gerudo King took an extra step back as he regained his balance, just of reach of Link's sword. He summoned a ball of energy an flung it at Link. This was an old trick of his, Link knew how to parry it. Swinging his sword like a bat, he whacked the incoming spell and sent it sailing over Ganondorf's head into the ceiling.

"I know your tricks, Ganondorf," Link warned him, taking a step back to give himself some breathing room to see what Ganondorf would do next.

"I don't know how you know anything, boy," Ganondorf snarled, "but nothing you know will stop me! The gods will give Hyrule to me!"

"Over my dead body," Link said, slowly inching in for an attack while he had Ganondorf distracted with witty conversation.

"That's doable, oh Hero of Time." Ganondorf swung his sword down in a wide diagonal arc.

Link brought his sword up to block, only for Ganondorf to feint and give Link a resounding thwack on the head with the hilt of his sword. Link went down, dropping the Master Sword.

"As I said," Ganondorf said past the ringing in Link's ears, "that's doable. I'm nice enough not to."

Link forced his vision to refocus as Ganondorf took off at a run towards the room Link had been trying to defend. Abandoning the Master Sword where it lay, he got up, ignoring the way the world spun, and took off at a dead sprint, passing Ganondorf just as they both entered the room.

The Triforce glowed beautifully in front of them. Ganondorf reached forward to push Link away, and Link did something drastic, the only thing he could think to do without his sword. He shoved his shoulder against the Triforce, pushing it away from Ganondorf's reach.

_He who touches it first_, three feminine voices said, then Link's vision faded to gold.


	13. Chapter 12: Second Life

Taburd's arm was getting tired, as he grabbed another arrow, nocking it and taking aim at a Stalfos.

Before he could let the arrow fly, he felt the urge to not attack. He lowered his bow, wondering at the sight of the war coming to an abrupt stop. Monsters disappeared. Gerudo warriors and soldiers put down their weapons. Everything came to a slow halt.

He felt no urge to fight. He felt no hatred towards his enemies, no desire to win against them.

The bells of the temple rang out and he turned, looking down into the city. His cousin, hood pushed back and his left hand glowing gold, led a small group of people, one he recognized as Zelda, another as her handmaiden, Impa, an old Goron, a young Zora woman, a Gerudo and a small child with green hair dressed in all green.

The sages.

"I'll be damned," he said, sitting down on the edge of the wall. "Wasn't what we were counting on, but we'll take it." He dropped his bow and climbed down the ladder, hurrying over to him. "Was this the intention?" he asked as he reached Link.

Link laughed. "I didn't mean this. I was trying to push it away from Ganondorf. Forgot that counted as touching it, and the rule's the first to touch it."

The queen stepped forward, hooking her arm in Link's. "There'll be peace in Hyrule for a long time to come now," she said. She looked up towards the castle. "Just one more little thing to deal with. My husband."

"Dad!" Goron Link rolled up beside them. "You're okay!"

The elder Goron, who Taburd now realized must be Darunia, grinned. "Don't think I've handed anything over to you yet, boy. I'm still here."

"We're all grateful to be back," Impa said. "The Hero has saved the day, as he was prophesiedto do."

Link turned red. "I don't think this is what the goddesses intended, but okay. But really, can we not make a big deal of it? The war's over. Nabooru, you can take over the Gerudo and reestablish peace with the rest of Hyrule. Darunia, can I count on you and your son to get Saria back to the forest?"

"You have my word, Brother," Darunia said.

"Before we do that, Link," the little girl that Taburd assumed must be Saria, said, "we have a peace conference to attend. The Kokiri were affected by Neshir and Ganondorf, too, I'd like to be there for this."

Link let go of Zelda's arm to crouch down in front of Saria. "Are you sure, Saria? You may not be protected out here away from the forest."

"I'm the Sage of the Forest," she said. "I can exist anywhere the sages are needed. You knew that."

Link stood. "I kinda did, yeah." He looked over at Zelda. "All right, I know you're dying to step on him, let's go to the castle and push Neshir out the door."

"Or out a tall window," the queen said with a positively chipper smile. Taburd felt a bit disturbed by that.

Link's ears flattened. "Zelda, remember what I said."

"I know, I can dream, though."

"Before we do anything about the king, my lords and ladies," Taburd interrupted. "We have a war to clean up. People are just standing around here." He glanced back at the armed men and women who were still looking a bit lost and watching the sages and Link closely.

"Nabooru, gather the Gerudo, pick a couple to help you represent them at the peace talks, send the rest home. Cousin, can you get the other nobles? We'll claim Neshir's soldiers, I want everyone to choose a couple of their best men to stand with them and send everyone else home. We're not at war, anymore, we don't need an army standing by."

"But Link-"

The queen was cut off by the sound of hoof beats breaking the unnatural silence. "My queen!" Lady Vorai shouted, maneuvering around Gerudo and soldiers who were picking up their weapons, but making no move to fight. Everyone seemed captivated by what was happening near Link.

"Lady Vorai!" the queen smiled. "We thought you dead when the Gerudo cavalry arrived."

Vorai dismounted the Gerudo horse she rode in on. "I'm sorry, my queen, we failed. I hope my infantry was here to ease the losses?"

"They were," Taburd said. "We saw 'em come in. The Gerudo cavalry just made confusion, didn't hurt us none."

"Thank the goddesses." Vorai bowed to the queen. "My warriors, were they helpful?"

"They saved our asses a couple times," Link said, "but we lost them when we started running from Twinrova. That was our fault."

Vorai nodded once to him. "I am glad they were helpful. My queen, what shall we do with your new army?"

"We'll send the majority of them home for now," the queen said. "I want the nobles in charge of each part and some of their men to remain here, but we don't have room for everyone we brought in. I'll negotiate a standing army out of the other nobles, then they're all yours, Lady Vorai."

"Once the terms are settled, I'll not fail you again," Vorai assured her.

Nabooru waved, walking away. "Just let me get my girls gathered and sent home."

"I'll gather the other nobles," Taburd volunteered.

Nabooru paused. "I'll be there before they will," she called back. "This won't take but a minute."

Taburd nodded, then looked back to the queen "Try not to hurt the royal bug too much, Your Majesty. At least until we're there to watch." He gave the queen a cheeky grin.

She gave him a dour look. "I'll try," she said. "Now go on, fetch my nobles. We'll meet you with a trussed up ex-king."

He bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty." He turned and wove his way through the confused soldiers and gathering Gerudo. He told a few soldiers to regroup, and several began to follow him to their respective places on the field. The Gerudo marched out along with them, as if they had always been peaceful allies rather than enemies at war.

The effects of the Triforce in the hands of a peace-loving Hero were bizarre to Taburd. All the fight had just left everyone, leaving behind a deep seated confusion as to why they were fighting in the first place.

Lord Spicer, on horseback, rode forward to meet him. The others were gathered together a small distance away. "Lord Taburd, what's going on?" he asked. "Everything just stopped. I've never seen anything like this."

"The queen wants us to gather at the castle," Taburd said. "It might be easier to explain if the lot of us are together."

Spicer turned in his saddle, motioning to the other nobles, who'd all been mounted and ready to bolt if things turned sour. They joined Taburd and Spicer.

"What's going on?" Lady Chitaur demanded.

"Link kinda sorta accidentally claimed the Triforce," Taburd said, even as they turned to head inside the castle walls.

Lady Pole raised an eyebrow, her ears flattening. "How do you kinda sorta accidentally do that?"

"He was trying to shove it away from Ganondorf's reach," Taburd said. "Goddesses counted that as 'first touch' and gave it to Link. That's why everyone stopped fighting. Link didn't want anymore war, so there wasn't."

"Things will be very interesting with this change in events," Spicer said. "Imagine, peace again after so many years of tensions. I've even missed dealing with you, Lady Chitaur."

Chitaur blustered a bit. "I beg your pardon, Spicer. I have always been a model leader of my lands and friend of the treaties."

Spicer laughed. "Lady Chitaur, you're an old grouch. I missed you."

"Heathen," Chitaur said, lifting her head a bit.

Taburd smothered a laugh, just shaking his head with a broad smile on his face. "Come on, the queen and Link are trussing Neshir up as a turkey for us to roast over a spit."

"How exciting!" Pole exclaimed. "Just in time for my birthday."

"Just remember, Lady Pole, the queen gets first roasting rights."

"Of course, of course," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "But I want my own chance."

"I'm sure we'll all get our chance to take a cheap shot at the former king," Lord Rampston said.

The horses walked slowly, keeping pace with Taburd as they walked up the path to the castle. The drawbridge was down, and stable boys were waiting to take the nobles' horses for care. Everyone dismounted, Lady Chitaur with some help. Her bones were getting old, Taburd imagined that getting on and off a horse might be painful, though it didn't stop her.

Taburd had never been to the castle, so he didn't know his way around, nor did he have any idea where Link and the others were.

"Where do you suppose they are?" Rampston asked.

Before anyone could say the obvious "who the hell knows" answer to that question, a bell-like voice spoke up and Tatl flew out into view. "This way!" she said. "They're in the throne room. Neshir's not too happy about being in custody."

"Good," Chitaur said. "Let the fraud suffer."

"Lead the way, Tatl," Taburd said.

Tatl chimed, then turned and flew off, pausing to let the nobles catch up. "Sorry, I forget my speed sometimes," she said.

"We have old bones amongst us," Chitaur told her. "Have patience."

Another chime, then the fairy turned again and flew down the hall, slower this time, leading them through a few more turns, then into what was clearly the throne room. The queen sat on her throne, looking like a properly pissed off royal, with Link standing by. The sages stood along the dais to one side, and Lady Vorai and two of her men on the other.

And Neshir was standing in front of the dais, looking very put out and a bit roughed up. Taburd got the distinct feeling that either Link, the queen, or one of the sages had bullied him into good behavior for the moment.

The queen, who could be all smiles in the proper setting, did not look so pleasant now. "Thank you, noblemen and women, for showing up. Can I call on you to be my witness and advocate at the peace conference to those who profited under my _ex_-husband's fraudulent rule?"

Before anyone could reply, Neshir protested, shrill-voiced as he did. "I am rightful king! This is my country!"

"Silence." Zelda stood. "You and your former advisor plotted and poisoned my father's insanity and death that led to your rule. You sat upon this throne under false pretenses. It is once again _my_ throne and _my_ country, and I have every intention of fixing the messes you have made to disrupt the treaties that united us under my father's rule. You broke treaties, abused our allies, and caused another war of unification. You stand as a traitor, Neshir, don't push my patience."

Link looked like he was holding back the urge to laugh. Taburd didn't blame him, he wanted to applaud his queen for her fine handling of the former king.

The queen motioned to the guards, a couple of which looked almost as harried as Neshir had when Taburd and the others first came in. "Take him to the dungeon. I'll decide what to do with him later." While the guards took custody of a loudly-protesting Neshir, the queen turned her attention to Taburd and the others. "I would like you to stay here with us for the time being, you and your seconds who stand with you. We will send letters to the handful of noblemen who benefited from Neshir's rule and bring them here for peace talks."

"We will be your witnesses and advocates," Taburd said. "I don't know a one among us who doesn't want peace back under your rule."

"Hear, hear," Rampston said.

"Now that the bug isn't interrupting us," Chitaur said. "As Lord Taburd said, we stand with you, now and always, my queen."

The icy, hard professional expression on the queen's face faded into one of her fair smiles that had captivated the country in her youth. "Thank you, all of you. We wouldn't be here if not for you and your help."

"I'll have my fastest horsemen deliver your letters to the other nobles of Hyrule if you don't mind," Chitaur said.

"Thank you, Lady Chitaur," the queen said, then summoned one of the nearby servants. "Take our friends to guest suites," she instructed him. "We'll be here a few days before everyone is gathered." She looked over at the sages. "For you, as well?"

"Not for me," Queen Ruto said. "I will return for the conference, but I must return home and assure my people I'm still alive, and select someone to stand with me for the talks. Your messengers would not get by my people to deliver news of my well-being. I'll have to go myself."

"As you wish, Queen Ruto. What about the rest of you?

"I think rooms for the rest of us will be fine," Impa said. "There are Gorons here, and Gerudo, and Saria cannot bring a second from the forest."

Saria nodded. "I'm the only Kokiri that can survive out here, and only now that I've been called."

"What about Link?" Nabooru asked. "He was raised with you."

"He stands with me," the queen said. She regarded each person in the throne room carefully. "We will reconvene once everyone is assembled. For now, we all deserve a rest."

"Agreed," Pole said. "Thank you for the accommodations."

The servant the queen had summoned turned to the assembled gentry and sages. "This way," he said. "Fresh clothing will be afforded to you."

Taburd shot one more look at the queen and Link, both of whom looked ready to collapse with exhaustion now that official business was done, then followed the servant and the rest of the gathered folk out.


	14. Chapter 13: Kiss Me

The peace talks were quiet. Any nobles who wanted Neshir back were quickly bullied into silence by the others. Most agreed that peace was in their better interests anyway, but there were always those few dissenters.

Slowly, Hyrule came back. The waters of Zora's River flowed freely, miners were once again able to go up Death Mountain and work in tandem with the Gorons. Trade opened again, and gradually, the people came to rest easy again.

And the land was blessed with a royal wedding.

"Link?"

Link pretended to not hear Zelda just yet, sitting by a pond in the royal gardens, playing his ocarina quietly. Guards wandered in their patrols, leaving Link be. Finally, when Zelda called his name again, he put down his ocarina and turned, looking back at her. "Shouldn't you be resting?" he asked.

"Only if you are," she said, sitting down on the ground next to him. "You're restless."

"I'm not used to being stationary anymore," he admitted. "But I don't _want_ to go traveling again. I like it here." He looked over at her, smiling at the way her face lit up when he said that.

"Good," she said. "I don't want you to leave again. But you seem more interested in the gardens than helping me rule Hyrule. Some king you are."

Link made a rude noise. "I'm just a simple forest kid," he said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you proposed and made me go through a royal wedding and all that nonsense, but ruling probably isn't a good idea for me to do. I don't know the first thing about it."

"You're very good at keeping the peace and keeping me calm," she said.

"The peace thing is the Triforce," he protested. "It feels like a cheap trick, wishing peace and automatically getting it, whether it was wanted or not by the rest of the country."

She shook her head, resting a hand on her swollen belly. She was due any day now. "No, Link, that is your talent. You've always been able to get people to like you easily, and my temper's not the best after too many years with Neshir and Ganondorf controlling things. You keep me calm, you ease hostile hearts. That's you doing that, not the Triforce. The country wants peace, don't think you're forcing it on us."

Link studied the golden mark on his left hand. It was still surreal, still hard to deal with, all that power at his fingertips. He could ruin or save the country with a thought. It was a frightening responsibility to be burdened with.

As if hearing his thoughts, Zelda wrapped her arms around his. "You are the right person to hold that," she said. "Don't be afraid, you are a good man, that's all you need to be."

With a smile, he freed his arm from hers and wrapped it around her shoulders. "If you say so, dear."

"I do say so," she said, leaning against him and closing her eyes.

He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Zelda. Thanks for waiting for me. Not many women would."

"I am not most women," she said. "I have always been yours."

He looked down at their reflection in the water, Zelda very pregnant with their child, eyes closed and looking serene, and him, getting to hold the most beautiful woman in the world.

It was nice to be home.


End file.
